Down a different branch
by ExNarutoFan
Summary: Ever catch yourself thinking this series had a lot of wasted potential? That it could've been something great if only the author put more effort into it? Imagine if Square Enix had recognized this, fired the Akame ga Kill anime writing staff during the production of episode 14 and decided to hire someone else to take over? Well you don't have to imagine! Read on boys and girls!
1. Kill the Uncertainty

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit.

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 **A/N:** Unfortunately, I've yet again come across an anime that had great potential, only for the writers lose sight of it at some point. I very much felt this way about the Naruto series, hence did my best to give the ending justice with my previous fanfiction. Today, I will be attempting to do the same with Akame Ga Kill.

Particularly, I had very much been liking the way this anime was going. I found the dynamic between Tatsumi and Esdeath to be very fascinating and was looking forward to seeing what the writers intended to do with it. Imagine my surprise while watching the 14th episode when the writers cop out on the entire thing by having Tatsumi give up on persuading her to become an ally and ultimately reducing Esdeath to simply being yet another evil for the sake of being evil villain. How dull! How boring! How unimaginative! It's perhaps the equivalent to writers of Batman having Batman simply say. "Hmm, nah, Catwoman is a crook. Best to give up on her. Oh hey, look over there! It's Batgirl. I think I'll suddenly fall in love with her for little to no reason!"

What's more, they throw away all that time Tatsumi and Esdeath spent together (which is now essentially pointless fan service) and pair him up with Mein instead. Seriously? Mein? I'm deeply sorry to all of you Mein supporters, but she's probably the most underdeveloped main character in the series. In the episode focused around her, her backstory was summarized in like 30 seconds. Hell, at least the writers attempt to indicate some kind of attraction between Tatsumi and Leone. Why not let them get together? Or hell, even Akame. Why Mein? Very confusing! Now I haven't read the manga, but from what I've heard, it makes the same mistake, thus I have **no intention** of reading it for any purpose besides reference material and brainstorming.

Naturally, I was very disappointed with the anime ending. It seems the writers realized how bad they screwed up and let Tatsumi and Esdeath be together **literally** , but by that point, the damage had been done.

Thus, I seek to take another crack it. We'll pretend that at some point during the production of the 14th episode, Square Enix decided to fire the writing staff and hand it over to yours truly, ExNarutoFan. Now having complete writing control, what would I do differently? Plenty. Hold your horses as this is going to be a completely different ride from what you've seen.

Before we start, just a few housekeeping matters. It's important you read these as you may very well lose interest in reading this fic based on any one of the below points I bring up.

(1) Teigu will be referred to as "Imperial Arms" as that's the name I'm used to seeing in the anime. I'll also call the empire the "Grand Empire", since that name is a little more specific.

(2) The anime doesn't really give enough time to properly set up the Wild Hunt Arc, thus I'm not really going to bother with it. Syura's role, though antagonistic, will be altered somewhat.

(3) Like the original, I won't pull any punches. Plot armor doesn't exist. No one, including Tatsumi, is protected from death. And I don't promise a "everyone lives happily ever after ending either", though I've yet to make up my mind on that.

(4) Everything prior to episode 14 is canon. Any anime/manga elements post-episode 14 **I like** will be used here. **Everything else** will be **swept to the side** and erased from ExNarutoFan headcanon **,** giving you a **completely fresh storyline** regarding the way things could have went **.**

(5) This fic will probably be 9-10 chapters (ideally, one chapter per episode, but no filler) since I totally hate it when I read a fic only to find out that it's more or less on permanent hiatus. I'm working from the standpoint of what the anime could've been, so this fic doesn't need a bajillion chapters.(6) Esdese will be referred to as Esdeath, since that's the name I'm used to seeing in the sub.

(6) **IMPORTANT:** This isn't purely a romance fic. Tatsumi and Esdeath are the leads, but not every chapter will revolve around them. This fic is not just an effort to fix the potential that lied with the dynamic of their relationship, but problems with this series in general. In my eyes, the story comes first and foremost. **If you've come in wanting to read a pure romance story with fluff and shoujo elements in every chapter** , **this fic is not for you**. Adventure comes first, romance comes second. Remember, I'm simply trying to give you what the anime could've been.

Nonetheless, if you liked the Tatsumi/Esdeath dynamic and are curious to see what could've been done with it, keep reading! If that sort of thing disgusts you and you absolutely despise the idea of someone giving a different take on the series, I suggest you exit out of this page right now. Without further adieus, lets pick up during a very pivotal moment during episode 14. We all know what happened in the original series, but imagine if Tatsumi had a different train of thought. Prepare yourself boys and girls as it's time to kill the rewrite!

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 **Update: 9/1/16:** Going back and editing each chapter one by one. Not changing the story, just improving the quality of the writing and making alterations I ended up making in later chapters (such as the way I transition from scene to scene as well as a moderation of overused adjectives).

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 ** _Episode 14 Continued: Kill the Uncertainty_**

The young wielder of Incursio couldn't believe what he had just heard. To think that this gorgeous woman with radiant blue hair was not being corrupted by the blood of the Danger Beasts used to forge her Imperial Arm. To think that in spite of the kindness she had constantly shown him throughout the day, she had taken great pleasure in torturing others. How could he possibly expect to change the core of the being of someone like this? It was unthinkable.

Esdeath looked upon the object of her affections with curiosity. It was abundantly clear that he was lost in thought. "Tatsumi, is there something wrong?"

He gazed upon his villainous companion, reminding himself not to lose his composure. "Nothing. Nothings wrong. It's just . . .what's the other way to get back to the capital?"

"I guess I should tell you now. We need to acquire some kind of ride. For travel, you can ride on some Danger Beasts' backs. Taming one is quite difficult, but it isn't an issue for me."

At that moment, the boy's eyes shifted from the Ice Queen as something had caught his attention. "Wait a second, like that one?"

She turned around, fully observant of the sting ray like Danger Beast maneuvering throughout the sky. "Speak of the devil . . . what bad timing."

Without thinking, she dashed away from Tatsumi, rushing ever closer towards her new prey. The thought of taming something, be it man or beast, always excited her. What's more, this was another chance to show off in front of her newly claimed lover. Certainly not an opportunity she would even considering passing up on.

"What are you going to do? It's incredibly high in the sky?"

"I'll train it after I shoot it down. I won't let it get away!"

Tatsumi looked on with awe and amazement. Evil or not, he couldn't help but be impressed at how quick his enemy was in taking on any challenge. As if she could accomplish anything she set her mind to. What a shame it was that the two were on competing sides.

Just as it looked like Esdeath was about to engage the beast, the young man noticed a flash of light emanating from behind him. "Whoa! This is the way back! If I sneak out right now . . ."

Before Tatsumi could ease himself any closer to the portal though, he found himself conflicted. Thoughts of how he spent the entire day with this woman, this murderous torturous woman, flooded his mind. Despite what he had just found out about her, he couldn't shake away the fact that she had taken care of him and treated him kindly with the utmost sincerity. Was sneaking away really the right thing to do?

" _Maybe if I just let her know the portal is open and then get in, I'll have repaid her kindness. Then I can . . ."_ , he thought, trying to figure out how to ease his conflicted heart. " _No_ , _that kindness . . . if she were purely evil, would she really act that way?"_

Seconds passed and he continued to hesitate, gazing at the portal and gazing at a preoccupied Esdeath. So much conflict. So much uncertainty. Whatever decision he was going to make, he was certain it was going to drastically influence the events to come. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he turned away from his one means of escape.

Using a barrage of ice projectiles, the general knocked the flying beast out of the sky and onto the ground several hundred feet north of where she was standing. She licked her lips, smirking to herself at what appeared to be another victory as well as another instance or proving that she was strong and her enemies were weak. Confident thoughts which were quickly interrupted by the sound of clapping.

"Wow Esdeath! You're amazing!"

To hear her newly claimed love praise her for the first time put such a vibrant smile on her face that made her as giddy as a school girl. She turned around, believing she had earned herself a victory kiss, only to notice the quickly fading portal behind her companion. She had begun to say something, but the portal faded away before she could speak.

Tatsumi walked ever closer to her, pondering on the decision he just made. " _I can't be too hasty about this. Killing is all she's ever known, but it's not all there is to her core being. Maybe she can change. If I stay on this island a little longer, maybe I'll figure out a different way to approach this"_

Esdeath ran over to embrace him, inadvertently smothering him with her chest and making him blush uncontrollably like always. "Did you see how quickly I took out that Danger Beast? Pretty impressive, right?"

Tatsumi nodded his head, still blushing over how intimately close he was. There was a small part of him outraged at his own insanity in not taking advantage of the many opportunities this beautiful woman threw his way, but he did his best to block out this carnal nagging voice and focus on the task at hand. "So how long will it take you to tame this Danger Beast?"

She pondered on the matter for a moment, making various considerations such as the size of the beast, the aggressiveness it had shown and her experience with this of beast in the past. Taking into account all the data she was aware, the answer came naturally. "Two hours."

"Say, Esdeath, can I ask you something?"

"Anything", she flirtatiously whispered into his ears.

"Would you mind staying here for rest of the night?"

The very instant these words left Tatsumi's mouth, his lips were seized by a pair of competing lips, amorous welcoming lips filled to the brim with urges.

She broke the kiss, gazed adoringly into his eyes and ran her fingers through his hair. "Did watching me handle that beast excite you this much? We can stay here as long as you like."

Nervous beads of sweat poured down the boy's face. " _What did I just agree to_?!"

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 **[. . . An esoteric soak in the hot spring . . .]**

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Esdeath had decided to put off taming the flying Danger Beast until the morning, cryogenically freezing it in place She couldn't wait to spend the remainder of the evening with her companion. All the while, Tatsumi continued to dwell on his decision to avoid escape, wondering whether he made the right choice and what consequences he'd face. Eventually, he was going to have to get back to the other members of Night Raid, a task which would no doubt be difficult with his tall and slender accomplice watching his every move.

The two strolled around the island holding hands, much to Esdeath's delight and Tatsumi's dismay. It wasn't long until she spotted a hot spring nearby. "Such magnificent serendipity, eh Tatsumi?"

Now more panicky than ever, he noted the sudden expression on her face. "Uh . . .Esdeath, I'm not sure if this is a good idea."

She rubbed her chin. "Hmm . . . you're right."

Tatsumi sighed in relief before seeing the Ice Queen use her imperial arm to form a large igloo around themselves and the entire hot spring.

"There. Now we don't have to worry about a lack of insulation or being ambushed by Danger Beasts."

"That . . . wasn't . . . what I . . ." He was unable to finish the sentence though. For by the time he had uttered those words, she had already removed all of her clothes. A geyser of blood fired out from within his left nostril.

Esdeath innocently looked upon her claimed lover while stepping into the heated water. "You say something Tatsumi?"

He sighed once more, reluctantly removing his clothes and entering the heated pool of water. " _I guess there isn't any harm in just getting in the water. Besides, if I play my cards, this might work to my advantage._ "

The two sat in the shallow area of the spring, Esdeath intimately wrapping an arm around her companion. "Ah, this is nice. Just the two of us here. I don't think I've ever had a more splendid day."

"Esdeath, about that conversation we had earlier . . ."

"Which one?"

"Earlier, you told me you went to join the imperial army after your father died. But why did you join the Empire?"

"There are two things I truly love in this world. Battle is one of them. I figured that by joining the Grand Empire , I could fight and inflict as much mayhem as I wanted to. As a result, I've had the pleasure of slaughtering thousands all in the name of the Empire."

Tatsumi felt the sense of outrage he had experienced earlier resurfacing, but was better prepared to control himself this time. "If battle is all you care about, then what difference does it make whether you serve the Empire or not?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're the strongest person I've ever met. Maybe the strongest person in the entire world. If you wanted to, you could serve the Revolutionary Army and no one would be able to stop you. You could get just as much battle fighting the Empire as you can serving it, maybe even more."

The Ice Queen found herself giggling in delight. "Oh Tatsumi. You're right. I could abandon the Empire right now if I wanted to and no one would be able to do anything about it. I could get just as much battle as I'm getting now"

"So why don't you?"

"If a baker stands to earn just as much money moving his bakery to the other part of town as he earns currently, should the baker move?"

"I guess it depends on what he gains out of moving."

"Precisely. Whether I fight for the Empire or Revolutionary Army, nothing changes."

"That's not true. Under the Prime Minister's corrupt influence, scores of villages have become impoverished and over-taxed, hundreds of officers have been executed for speaking out against-"

"We have developed the strongest military throughout all imperial history", she interrupted, suddenly taking on a more serious demeanor. "Invasions from foreign nations are non-existent. The threat of danger beasts are at an all time low."

"That doesn't excuse the Prime Minister's corruption."

"I wasn't trying to offer an excuse. My point is that nothing is going to change. Imagine if the weak Revolutionary Army were to defeat the Empire. Do you suppose the foreign nations the resistance has no doubt been conspiring with would keep their end of the bargain? Or would they immediately seize the opportunity to take our land and all of its imperial arms for themselves?"

"What foreign nations?"

"Tatsumi Tatsumi Tatsumi. You're so naïve, but it just makes me want you all the more. Your precious Revolutionary Army gets its funding from bordering nations all surrounding this country. Nations that you'd consider every bit as corrupt as ours, some moreso than others. The only reason these nations don't invade us is because they're simply too weak to do so. If the Grand Empire is defeated, then you'll just be exchanging your current problems with a set of new ones. Your enemy isn't so much this country as it is the human condition. The corruption you like to talk about isn't going to disappear regardless of what you do. It'll simply take on a different form. Even this Night Raid group which I've heard so much about. They themselves are a beacon of corruption"

"You're wrong! Night Raid has done plenty of good by giving corrupt politicians and officials exactly what they deserve."

"By taking the law into their own hands and murdering them, right? Is that what you're hoping to fight for? An empire where justice and murder are one in the same? How can you claim to fight against corruption by using corrupt methods? Either way, corruption remains."

Tatsumi searched for a response, but nothing came to mind. Up until this point, everything seemed clear. He had come to accept that he himself was ultimately a murderer fighting for the greater good, but he couldn't help but detect a hint of truth in Esdeath's words. For a moment, he found himself speechless.

"None of which matters to me of course. Night Raid can murder all it wants. It makes pursuing them all the more thrilling, but they're fooling themselves to do so under the guise of traditional morality."

"Traditional morality?"

"If you go by traditional morality, the only difference between Night Raid and I is our point of view. Any civilization where traditional morality rules would consider us both criminals and worthy of imprisonment and execution. My morality is much much simpler. The strong live and the weak die. Survival of the fittest. The Revolutionary Army is weak. They send assassins to do what they are too weak to do themselves. They want to kill the Prime Minister for not living up to morals they themselves don't live up to. I'll side with the strong."

To this, Tatsumi frowned, wondering if perhaps remaining on the island was a bad idea after all. He hadn't taken into account just how far she had thought out her beliefs. With every word she uttered, the thought of getting her to change her mind seemed even further out of reach. Moreover, something about her comments regarding Night Raid gave him pause.

Tatsumi's look of disappoint didn't escape the the Ice Queen's notice however. She quickly realized she had spoken too much. She began to experience an uneasy feeling she didn't recognize. A feeling she was deeply unfamiliar with. Regret. She didn't regret believing what she said. Not remotely. But she certainly regretted saying it. Suddenly, she found herself considerate for the feelings of someone besides herself, but not for tactical or conventional reasons such as improving troop morale or manipulating her subjects. Rather, the more this feeling surged throughout her, the more she wanted it to go away. Desperate she was to eviscerate it as quickly and efficiently as she hadlcut down so many of her enemies in the past.

Dozens of ideas poured through her head. Sorting each idea out one by one, she promptly recalled a conversation she had with one of the Jaegar members: Bols. People in love go out of their way to make the person they care about happy. So he said. It seemed like sheer foolishness when she had heard the advice, but it was something she was willing to try. Anything to get rid of the look on Tatsumi's face.

"Lets change the subject", she said in an overtly casual fashion, trying her hardest not to sound desperate. "Tell me: What made you come to the capital? Was it always to join the revolution?"

"The village I grew up in is going through hard times; it's poor and struggling. I figured that by coming to the capital, I could make a name for myself and earn enough gold to help out."

"Then it's settled!"

He looked at her with the utmost curiosity. "What's settled?"

"As soon as I get back to the capital, I'll have the Emperor supply your village with more gold than it can handle."

"You . . . you could do that?!"

"Technically, I found you without the Emperor's help, thus the Emperor still owes me a request for my job well done up north. Your village will have enough gold to live comfortably for a lifetime and if tax collectors are foolhardy enough to go there, they'll have to answer to me."

And just like, every bad thing about this villainous woman was forgotten. Her service to the Empire. Her unrepentant torturous and murderous acts. In that one moment, nothing else seemed to matter. Although the fight against the Empire wasn't over, the very reason he even came to the capital in the first place had just been resolved with but a few words. It was enough to almost bring tears to his eyes. With a bright smile on his face, Tatsumi wrapped both of his arms around her with all of his might. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Her cheeks flushed as Tatsumi held her close, unused to being on the receiving end of affection in their relationship thus far. Not a hint of embarrassment or nervousness on his part despite the setting they were in. What's more, there was that smile of his, the same smile he had shown on the day she had fallen in love with him. Esdeath returned the embrace, wrapping both of her arms around Tatsumi and pressing him firmly against her bosom.

 **[** **. . . Under the Stars . . .** **]**

The remainder of the evening was surprisingly pleasant. Tatsumi had caught a massive fish from the nearby lake, using the fishing skills he had learned from Akame months ago. He also used his cooking talents to make it a tasty dish both him and Esdeath could enjoy. The two spent the rest of their time watching the stars near a campfire before lying down together, the Ice Queen l cuddled up intimately close to the man she loved. Not a hint of embarrassment or nervousness on the part of the latter.

As she dozed off, Tatsumi remained wide awake, eyes gazing upon the sky. Something didn't quite sit right with him as her words regarding Night Raid continued to echo throughout his mind.

" _Is that what you're hoping to fight for? An empire where justice and murder are one in the same? How can you claim to fight against corruption by using corrupt methods? Either way, corruption remains_."

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 **A/N:** Viola, the first chapter is complete! Lemme know what you think! Does this sound like something you'd like to see 9-10 more chapters of? Worse story you ever read? Positively amazing? Pure meh? Any of the above? Feedback is much appreciated!


	2. Kill the Ride Back Together

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

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 **A/N:** Thanks for the feedback boys and girls! I really appreciate it! Just a couple of things I'll address before we get started!

 **(1):** I wouldn't mind doing a 20-30 chapter Akame ga Kill fic, but in this case, I just don't see the need. The anime had a strict 24-25 episode season limit. I'm simply trying to succeed where the anime (and the manga to a lesser extent) failed IMO. I already have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to do in each chapter, though depending on how carried away I get (particularly around the climax), it'll probably be a few chapters longer than the 10 I've got planned. Some chapters will be _a lot_ longer than others, especially chapter 7 from the looks of it.

 **(2)** I will be reading through the manga to get ideas, but I don't think I'd be doing the manga any justice in replicating all of its story arcs. If I go much beyond 10 chapters, this fic will probably would end up being on permanent hiatus since I'm not too certain about what my schedule will look like a few months from now. I aim to get this fic done within the foreseeable future like I did my Naruto fics.

 **(3)** I left T.E. Bbz a pretty detailed PM. I thank him for his constructive criticism, but I don't really feel like reposting it here since it pretty much involved a point by point justification of my thought process. Besides, I think it'd be infinitely better if I threw in a few things in the next chapters just to reflect the gist of my response as well as make up for any flaws I've noticed in the story thus far.

 **(4)** I'm releasing this chapter early, but don't expect future chapters to come out this quickly. My schedule is very uncertain.

 **(5)** Remember, I'm **only** binding myself to everything pre-episode 14 of the anime. Anything post-episode is not canon for this fic and will be altered as I see fit. This applies to events, Imperial Arms and character developments. Anything post episode 14 is tabula rasa for me!

Anything else? Nothing? Great. Good. Excellent. Time to kill the second chapter!

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 **Update: 9/1/16:** Going back and editing each chapter one by one. Not changing the story, just improving the quality of the writing and making alterations I ended up making in later chapters (such as the way I transition from scene to scene as well as a moderation of overused adjectives).

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 _ **Episode 15: Kill the Ride Together**_

What was a peaceful night had come and gone. The sun had risen. The birds were chirping. It was morning. As the sun's rays had been pouring down on his face, Tatsumi yawned and peeled his eyes open, only to see the sight of his well acquainted Ice Queen closely looking down upon him.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what are you doing?!" His general embarrassment around this woman's oblivious displays of affection had resurfaced in full force.

"When you're asleep, your eyes flutter in such a dreamy way. Kind of like butterflies." As always, the concept off boundaries appeared to be beyond her.

"Uh . . . thanks I guess."

"Last night was wonderful. I was thinking we could stay another day."

Tatsumi sat up from his sleeping position, nervously scratching the back of his head with a big grin on his face. "I'd love to . . . it's just I really should be getting back."

Much like a child, she pouted and sighed. "Oh well. It was nice while it lasted."

He engaged in a few morning stretches before accompanying the Ice Queen to the flying danger beast she had previously frozen. Curious as how Esdeath had planned to tame the creature, Tatsumi sat on a nearby rock, determined to observe every detail. Esdeath, licked her lips, swiftly unthawing the mighty beast without a moment's notice.

Just as soon as it was free from the ice, the danger beast lunged itself at the Ice Queen. Tatsumi prepared to unsheathe his short sword, only for Esdeath to motion him not to interfere. Before the monster could reach her, she formed an ice spear in her hand and rammed it through a non-vital area of the beast.

A devilish blood lusting grin grew wide on Esdeath's face at the sight of this. Not just at the blood she had spilled, but at the pain and anguish the creature was clearly suffering. Tatsumi barely managed to keep his composure, completely and utterly repulsed by what he was seeing. Over the course of the next hour or so, she engaged in all sorts of methods to inflict as much pain on the creature as possible without killing it or giving it an injury that would make it unsuitable for flight. These were the acts of someone who knew ins and outs of torture and relished in it.

Throughout this procedure, Tatsumi found himself comparing and contrasting the two Esdeaths he had come to know. The one he saw before him was more vile and sadistic than anyone he had ever encountered. Even if she did join the Revolutionary Army, would relying on someone like her make them any better than the Prime Minister they oppose? He wondered.

But then there was another side of the Ice Queen. The one he had spent all day with. The one he spent the evening with. The one that was kind and sweet. The one who was often as innocent as a school girl. The more he thought about this Esdeath, the more he smiled to himself. He had no intention of saying it aloud of course, but evening he had spent with her was both pleasant and memorable. It had been some time since he had been able to relax without worrying about an upcoming assassination.

How could the two sides of this woman be so drastically different? To this, he did not know the answer. Though prior to their exchange in the hot springs, he never would've imagined her as being willing to make the gesture she did for his village. Perhaps there was hope for her ever still.

Two hours had gone by like nothing. True to Esdeath's estimation, the Danger Beast was tamed, fully subservient to her every whim. "All done, Tatsumi."

Astonished the Night Raid assassin was as he rose up from the rock he had been sitting on ". . . you really did tame him."

She smirked in self-approval. "Of course. I've had lots of practice."

He shuddered to think too much about this remark. " _I don't doubt it."_

Followed by Tatsumi, she hopped onto the creature's back. Even without issuing any sort of verbal command whatsoever, the danger beast immediately knew to fly high into the air and head north in the direction of the capital.

He sat behind the Ice Queen, but was curious nonetheless. "How are you controlling it?"

"I'm standing in such a way where if it doesn't fly north, it knows it will suffer the consequences."

His eyes widened. "You've learned how to make it do that in just two hours?"

She yet again smirked in self-approval. "I told you. I've had lots of practice."

" _I wonder if this is how the danger beast Najenda was riding on was tamed."_

She blushed as a thought occurred to her. "Tatsumi, we can go faster if you like . . . but you'll have to hold onto me tight if you want to avoid falling off."

The usual nervous beads of sweat ran down his face. "Uh . . . I think I'm good."

At that instant, the danger beast increased its speed, moving several times faster. Not just that, but it also began aggressively doing flips and twirls. Panicking uncontrollably, Tatsumi latched onto the only leverage he could find: Esdeath's waist. "Hey! I thought you had control!"

"You'll have to forgive it, Tatsumi. It's a clumsy beast. Just to be safe, you'll have to stay in that position for the rest of the trip."

He looked at her skeptically. "Right. How are you even standing?"

To which she smiled. "I've frozen my boots to the beast's back. It couldn't knock me off even if it wanted to."

The next several minutes were filled with silence. Something the Ice Queen usually didn't mind, but in Tatsumi's case, it was a clear indication that he was dwelling on something. "Something wrong?"

He looked surprise, befuddled at her uncanny perceptiveness. "It's just . . . why did you agree to help my village?"

"Because I love you. Isn't it obvious?"

"But when I asked you to join the Revolutionary Army, you refused."

In one instance, she went from her soft loving side to her stern calculating demeanor. "You're asking me to compromise my beliefs and side with the weak. That I cannot do. I told you before: You will not change me."

He looked frustrated at her answer "Does it really matter who is weak and who is strong?"

She sighed. "It does. But let's not talk about this now. I'd like our relationship to be nice and simple."

"You're an elite and infamous general of the Empire. I'm a country boy from a small village. Even on paper, our relationship is anything but simple."

Amused, the Ice Queen laughed aloud. "Maybe, but out here, I'm just a woman. You're just a man. It sounds pretty simple to me."

For a moment, he smirked in full appreciation of the irony before widening his eyes in surprise of his own comment. " _Wait . . . what am I saying?! Since when do we even have a relationship?!"_

* * *

 **[. . . A Seaside Skirmish . . .]**

* * *

The flight continued at a rapid pace for quite some time until Tatsumi noticed smoke and fire on the sea below. He motioned Esdeath to lower the Danger Beast closer to the water, to which she readily complied. As they got closer, they heard screams of terror from various people. Evidently, a merchant's galleon was being boarded by pirates. The merchants aboard were doing their best to defend themselves, but were grossly outnumbered.

"We've got to help them!", Tatsumi cried.

Esdeath shook her head dismissively. "It doesn't look like it's worth the trouble. It's their own fault for being too weak and unprepared to sail the sea."

However, the Night Raid assassin was not about to idly sit by as people were in danger. Without hesitation, he leaped off the flying danger beast, skillfully landing on the top of the mast of the merchant's ship in such a way as to nullify the impact of his fall.

The Ice Queen stretched her hand out. "Tatsumi, wait!"

But he disregarded her words and swooped down straight into battle with his short sword unsheathed. Ever so swiftly, just as he pounced upon the deck, several of the pirates were cut down before they even became aware of his presence. Three additional pirates attempted to gang up on Tatsumi from behind, only to meet a similar fate as he slayed each of them before they could even touch him.

Suddenly, all eyes were on Tatsumi. The merchants and the pirate raiders ceased fighting, cautiously gazing in awe and confusion at the sight of this young man who had dropped out of the sky and easily decimated multiple rogues.

Tatsumi pointed his sword at the remaining pirates. "There's plenty more where that came from. If I were you, I'd get back on my ship and get lost."

Just as he said that, a middle aged black bearded man with a prosthetic hook for a left hand, an eye patch for a right eye, a peg for a right leg, dressed up in a red captain's coat and hat boarded the merchant's ship. "Oh we be getting back on our ship alright! Just as soon as we're done negotiating with these good and kind people for their supplies."

The Night Raid assasin quickly turned his attention to this new scoundrel, shifting himself into a combat stance. The pirate captain reached for the scabbard on his left side, removing a cutlass.

Tatsumi made the first move, leaping into the air and sweeping his short sword down upon his opponent. Despite his appearance however, this scoundrel was clearly no slouch to combat. Within no time, he parried Tatsumi's sword attack with the hook on his left arm.

" _That's some sturdy material"_ , Tatsumi thought, readily aware that an ordinary hook would have surely broken upon impact with such an attack.

The pirate captain stood firm with his hook still clashed with the assassin's blade. "I see ye eyeballing me weapon. Here, let me make ye better acquainted. Behold the might of my Imperial Arm, Adramelech !"

A visible current of electricity flowed throughout the pirate's captain's hook, instantly surging through Tatsumi's sword and finally his entire body, effectively electrocuting him. He winced in pain unlike any other as the volts traveled throughout his body.

Though the captain didn't miss a beat; he lifted his cutlass at what he saw an opportunity to end the battle immediately. "And now for the killing stroke!"

Tatsumi swiftly leaped back, barely averting getting cut down by this ruthless rogue. Upon regaining his balance, however, he felt a sharp pain on his chest. Rubbing his hand across it, he noticed a hint of blood, suggesting he was grazed by the pirate's cutlass. " _Dammit, that was too close. Had I tried dodging that any later . . ._ "

The pirate captain drew ever near. "What's the matter, boy? Ye looked so confident when ye were roughing up me men a minute ago. Don't tell me ye balls haven't even dropped yet!"

He tightly clenched his short sword with his right hand. " _Can't underestimate him."_

The captain aimed his hook carefully at his adversary, firing a blast of lightning out of it.

A startled Tatsumi promptly swayed his head to the side, barely avoiding the blast. " _He has ranged attacks too?!"_

Tatsumi kept avoiding his opponent's lightning blast, closing the distance with each dodge, getting closer and closer as the sequence continued until he was within striking range. This time, he launched a series of thrusts towards the captain's right side, forcing him to constantly parry with his cutlass. The captain made efforts to strike with his imperial arm, but Tatsumi made sure to circle his opponent as he tried, constantly moving at all times and refusing to give him the opportunity.

" _Aye. This brat's not bad. Focusing exclusively on me blind side. However . . ."_

The Captain suddenly looked down and smashed his imperial arm onto the deck he was standing on. A sudden burst of electricity encircled him and erupted from all sides, hitting Tatsumi before he could even react. The blast carried with it such force that it was powerful enough to slam the young man's body into the ship's mast.

Tatsumi tasted blood in his mouth. He gritted his teeth and glanced down at his sword. " _This would be so much easier if I just used Incursio!_ " He glanced up at the sky, observing Esdeath watching the scene from above. " _But if she sees me transform, she'll immediately know I'm part of Night Raid._ "

The Ice Queen stood atop the tamed danger beast with her arms crossed. "Tatsumi! You can win. Just focus!"

" _Focus?"_ he pondered. Suddenly, a previous battle of his came to mind. It was months ago when he faced off against that serial killer, Zank the Executioner. A deeply grotesque man, but a competent warrior nonetheless. Tatsumi had been on the verge of defeat when he faced him and surely would've died that night if not for Akame's assistance. Akame, a warrior so advanced as to be able to clear her mind completely during the heat of battle. If she could focus herself that much, perhaps he could do the same.

Hearing Esdeath speak, the pirate captain broke out into derisive laughter. "Look men, the brat brought his mommy to come help him fight his battles!"

But Tatsumi adeptly regained his footing, paying no mind to the captain's taunts. Instead, he shut his eyes, took a long and deep breath and then exhaled. Upon reopening his eyes, he looked more serious than he had been up until that point. Even the pirate captain could tell something was different as he immediately stopped laughing upon looking into the assassin's eyes.

" _He'll come charging at me again. I know he will! He be having no choice at this point! Just as soon as he gets close, I'll smash my hook into the ground again and finish him off! Then I'll see what I can do about his lovely wench up there!"_

Precisely as the captain predicted, Tatsumi rushed towards him once more. Just like last time, the captain fired multiple blasts of lightning out of his hook, Tatsumi once again dodging each and every one of them while closing the distance. As he drew in close enough towards striking range, his posture indicated that he was about to slash at the captain from his blind side.

"FOOL! IT'S OVER, BRAT!" Before the Night Raid assassin's blade could connect, the captain looked down, once again smashing his hook onto the deck, releasing another encircling burst of electricity. As the scoundrel anxiously raised his head however, what he saw before him wasn't his vanquished foe. Rather, he didn't see anything at all.

Esdeath smirked approvingly at the scene. "The only fool here is you."

Within a flash, Tatsumi came flying down from above. The Captain noticed his presence at the last second, but by then, it was too late. For as Tatsumi hit the ground, so too did the Captain's left arm.

" _He only pretended he was going to attack while charging at me all so I'd leave meself wide open. Clever little brat."_

Having clenched victory, Tatsumi lowered his guard and picked up the captain's severed appendage and inspected it closely. "Huh. So this is your Imperial Arm. In your case, literally."

Seeing such a cavalier attitude only only made the pirate captain snarl. "Ye haven't beaten me yet! I still have one good arm!"

Tatsumi was still examining the scoundrel's hook, paying very little attention to his opponent. "No. No you don't. Wait for it."

"Impudent little punk. Wait for what?!"

To which Tatsumi responded, simply glancing at the pirate's right arm, watching as it plopped off his body. "That."

Despite the immense pain he must've been in, all of it was greatly overshadowed by the pirate captain's rage. Tatsumi may have been a high caliber warrior, but publicly losing to someone who was, by all intents and purposes, a boy was still humiliating to say the least.

"To be honest, I've watched a friend of mine do that before", Tatsumi said, referring to the delayed dismemberments he had seen Akame perform in the past. "But this is the first time I've ever been able to do it so neatly."

"Talk big now, child, but I've long been prepared for this kind of sij-e-ation." He bit into one of the chest pockets on his captain's coat pocket.

Seeing this caught Tatsumi's attention, causing a troubled look to appear on his face. " _Shit!"_

Out from the scoundrel's pocket were several grenades, each attached to a string that had just been pulled. He bellowed with laughter. "Arrgh me boy. We be calling this duel a draw!"

Though at that very instant, Esdeath appeared right next to the pirate captain, whose body, grenades included, were now encased in solid ice. With one punch, she smashed the ice into little pieces.

She then turned around, her eyes now squared on the remaining pirates on board the merchant ship. Their eyes were filled to the brim with terror, none of them wishing to meet the same fate as their captain. Usually, the sight of such a state from her enemies was absolutely satisfying. But for some reason, the look on her face gave away no such emotion. Something Tatsumi found odd.

"Weissschnabel!" She folded her hands in a prayer like fashion, the tips of his pointed the pirates. A torrent of icicles instantly manifested themselves around her before each firing off towards and impaling the rogues. She then turned to face the pirates' own ship. "Hagelsprung!" With a mere snap of her fingers, a massive pillar of ice came crashing down upon it, sinking the ship in one fell swoop.

As always, Tatsumi stood by in awe at the Ice Queen's amazing feats. Though the fact that she had just saved his life didn't slip past them, something he was more than gracious about. "Thanks. That was close."

She calmly looked into his eyes. "Tatsumi."

"Hn?"

Before he knew it, she had slapped him with her right hand. He looked at her in confusion . . . words about to come out of his mouth . . . but stopped as he saw the ship's merchants walking up to him. Yet another conversation the pair would have to put off until later.

One of the merchants, probably no more than ten years older than Tatsumi, walked up to him to shake his hand. "Had you and your companion here not shown up when you did, it would've been the end of us. You have our eternal gratitude. If there is anything we can do to repay you, just name it"

Tatsumi had a modest look in his eyes. "Oh it was nothing. Just your safety is reward enough for . . ."

"A full coursed meal on the double", Esdeath bluntly interrupted. "That will suffice."

The merchant enthusiastically nodded his head. "Of course. That won't be a problem. In fact, we'll prepare a feast."

And so the merchants promptly prepared for their celebration, among many other tasks; they put out the fires the pirates had started, removed the excess debris, made repairs and dumped the lifeless pirate bodies overboard all while their chef went to great efforts to prepare a grand feast. Meanwhile, Tatsumi and Esdeath sat at a dining table brought up from the lower deck. The table itself was clothed and candlelit. As the two waited for their meal, several of the ships musicians opted to entertain them.

This sudden change in atmosphere was more than enough to put the Ice Queen in a more gleeful mood. "Can you believe it, Tatsumi? Our second date."

Drinking a glass of water at the time, he quickly spat it out. "A date?!"

She playfully nodded. "Much more authentic than our last one!"

The initial merchant to offer his thanks to the pair approached the table, alongside his daughter. The daughter most likely five years in age. "Your meal should be ready shortly. I just wanted to thank you again for what you did for us. We will never forget it."

And the little girl pulled her father's hand. "Daddy, she has such pretty hair. When I grow up, I want to have hair just like that!"

To which the Ice Queen smiled. "Why thank you."

The merchant then leaned in towards Tatsumi, whispering in his ear and planting something in his palm. "Pardon my intruding, but I noticed the tiff you were having with your lady friend earlier. It took me months to find one of these, but after what you did, I'm giving it to you. Here, this might help."

He looked down at his hand, noticing a dark blue rose. "Listen buddy, I think you've got the wrong idea. She's not my-"

But the little girl quickly kicked him in the shin before he could finish his sentence. "Daddy says you should always tell a lady sorry, no matter who is right or wrong."

Tatsumi recoiled back, grabbing his shin to comfort the blow. " _Do they even know what I did?! I sure as heck don't!"_

As the merchant and his daughter walked away, a chef and his assistants approached the dining table with an assortment of dishes. As they set the dishes down, the chef cleared his throat with a thick French accent. "Just as you requested madam, a full course meal. I hope everything is to your liking. On the right platters, a roasted turkey, battered swordfish, broiled goose, fried seal and an assortment of steaks. On the left platters, peppered cream spinach, fried rice, fried dumplings, roasted vegetables, veggie soufflé' and classic ratatouille. Bon appétit!"

Tatsumi's eyes wandered over each plate. " _It all looks so delicious. This guy could probably even give Su a run for his money._ "

Esdeath couldn't even take the time to let her eyes wander. Rather, she swiftly grabbed a steak knife and plunged it into the roasted turkey. Then, without pause, she picked the entire cooked bird up and began devouring it at a highly vicious pace. Based on looks alone, twas far unbecoming of a lady of her stature. Just watching this made Tatsumi recoil . " _Even with her food, she's merciless_."

"Tatsumi", the Ice Queen mumbled, still chewing her food. "Life on the battlefield is unpredictable and unforgivable. No one knows when their last meal is. So eat as much as you can. A full stomach is the last advantage you want your enemies to have over you."

* * *

 **[. . . Strange Sensation . . .]**

* * *

After the pair had finished eating, they hopped back onto their unquestionably obedient ride. A creature Esdeath had tamed well enough to have it hover patiently near the ship throughout this entire scene. Tatsumi gave his goodbyes, waving at the merchants and the rest of the galleon's crew as he flew off. It wasn't until late in the afternoon that the danger beast had finally made it to its master's intended designation, arriving relatively near the entrance to the capital.

As the two stepped back onto the ground, Esdeath glared at the creature with such venom. "Beat it. I don't need you anymore."

Quivering with fear, the beast flew off into the opposite direction, moving just as fast as it did to arrive at this location in the first place.

"Are you sure you don't need it?", Tatsumi asked, unsure of why someone would pass up on such a useful method of transportation.

She nodded her head. "The Grand Empire has plenty of tamed danger beasts to do its bidding. If I took that one back, it'd just be another mouth to feed. However, I do need that Imperial Arm you absconded from that pathetic thug. Adramelech I believe. "

Tatsumi reluctantly reached into his coat pocket, removing the prosthetic hook he had taken from the pirate captain, the arm no longer being attached. " _I was hoping she wouldn't notice."_

As she took hold of it, Esdeath closely inspected the lightning-powered weapon from tip to bottom. "Marvelous. I'm sure I can find a subordinate that can put this to good use after I get back to the palace."

Hearing her mention the place she intended to head back to remind prompted several thoughts from Tatsumi. " _The palace? Shit. I almost forgot. I need to get back to Night Raid. As long as she's watching me though, I won't be able to pull it off even with invisibility."_

As he was thinking about his current predicament, the Ice Queen appeared to be preoccupied with something else. She carefully looked all around the immediate area.

Her strange behavior didn't go unnoticed however. "Esdeath, what are you doing?"

For one reason or another, she suddenly sighed in relief. "Good. No one sees us. Tatsumi, I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"What is the name of your village?"

"It's a place near the northern regions called Impertinens."

"I see. Return their at once."

He was taken a little aback at where this conversation appeared to be heading. "What brought this on?"

"You no longer have a reason to be in the capital or join the Revolutionary Army. Your village is safe and will receive its gold within three days."

"Believe me Esdeath, I'm thankful, but it isn't just about . . .". He caught himself, immediately realizing that continuing that sentence wasn't in his best interest.

"Tatsumi?", she asked, curious about what he was trying to say.

He cleared his throat, making a different point instead. "What I mean to say is . . . I thought you wanted to take me back to the palace."

Hearing this made the Ice Queen's cheeks blush. Just the thought of Tatsumi wanting to go back with her made her heart race. "Don't get the wrong impression. I still intend to do that. Just not immediately. The thing is . . ."

Such hesitance. A lightbulb went off in Tatsumi's head. Suddenly, things started to make sense. "I take it this has something to do with what happened with the pirates earlier."

Esdeath averted her gaze, her eyes no longer meeting Tatsumi's directly. The expression on her face gave away a slight hint of sorrow. "I hadn't intended to interfere. But . . . watching you . . . watching you so close to death, I felt this strange sensation. It felt like my chest was tightening. I remember once feeling it as a little girl, but I don't understand what it was. Needless to say, I didn't like it."

"So that's why you hit me?"

She nodded her head. "I thought about it some more as we were flying back. It's not just going to end at the pirates. I still have the Revolutionary Army and Night Raid to contend with. I don't want to feel this sensation while fighting them nor let them think that they can use you as a trump card to get to me. So go back to your village. No one knows that I've found you and no one shall. Not until I'm done."

He gave her a thumbs up sign and a sincere smile. "Alright. I'll return to my village."

Before Tatsumi knew it, she wrapped both of her arms around him and held him close. "Just go back to your village. I'll come back for you as soon as I've eliminated all of my enemies."

He was somewhat surprised by this hug. Like the one he had given her in the hot spring, this one wasn't dripping with any lust or physical yearning; just affection in the purest sense. Not just that, but he even noticed himself returning the embrace, holding her just as close as she was holding him. The pair stayed like that for over a minute before parting. She walked away, waving her arm as if to say 'see you later.'

As she faded away into the distance, Tatsumi began to frown sorrowfully. In that instance alone, all of the assassinations he had taken part in, all the chaos he had seen the Empire wrought, Esdeath's own cruelty and the loss of each comrade up until that point flashed throughout his mind. " _No . . . I'm sorry. But I won't return to my village just yet_."

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 **Continuity Police:** Adramalech wasn't introduced pre-episode 14, so my liberties taken here are not violating my own rules! ;)

 **A/N:** Woo! Another chapter out of the way. Now we've just got 8-9 to deal with I think . . . maybe! Can ExNarutoFan get it done?! Or will this fic be end up on hiatus for a bajillion years? Find out next time on "Akame ga Kill: Down a different Branch."

P.S. 1000 internets to anyone who can spot the Full Metal Alchemist reference in the chapter.


	3. Kill the Interlude

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

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 **A/N:** As always, thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites. Couldn't keep this fic going without my loyal readers! I apologize about the delay, but as I mentioned in another note, my schedule is hectic. Nonetheless, I do intend to get this fic done. So far, everything is going according to plan in terms of the story's overall structure. With that said and without further ado, onto the next chapter!

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 **Update: 9/1/16:** Going back and editing each chapter one by one. Not changing the story, just improving the quality of the writing and making alterations I ended up making in later chapters (such as the way I transition from scene to scene as well as a moderation of overused adjectives).

* * *

 _ **Episode 16: Kill the Interlude**_

East to the capital was an imposing mountain range spanning hundreds of miles. The terrain amidst the mountains was much too uneven to make it suitable for frequent travel or trade routes. It was nonetheless an ideal place for men wanted by the Grand Empire to hide.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?", Wave asked, nudging Run while walking alongside him.

To which Run smirked. "Of course. If the rebels really have been keeping a hidden outpost here, should we eliminate it, it'll more difficult for them to gather intel on the Capital, much less communicate with Night Raid."

Evidently, Run, Wave, Kurome and Seryu were currently on an expedition. They had received a tip about some suspicious activity in these mountains as of late, thus decided to investigate.

Wave smiled, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, but it probably would've been a better idea to wait for Esdeath to return . . . or at least wait for Bols to get back from his day off with his family."

"If we're just going up against more rebels, we alone should suffice", Kurome noted, half preoccupied with the candy bar in her hand.

"Besides", Seryu chimed in, half preoccupied with feeding her Imperial Arm strips of ham. "If Bols were here, he'd just incinerate all the rebels and there'd be nothing left for sweet little Koro here."

The group continued traveling, until they reached the top of the nearest mountain, a peak which was so high that it was above the clouds. There, they spotted an isolated log cabin sitting in the center. Aside from that, there certainly wasn't much land to walk on.

"Seryu" Run said, cautiously looking to his companion with auburn hair. "Check to see if there's anyone inside."

She nodded her head and looked to her imperial arm. "Koro . . . sniff."

The canine like creature took a large whiff of the immediate area, only to promptly shake its head.

Run then looked to the only other male comrade present. "Wave, check the interior."

Wave shrugged his shoulders, only to proceed walking inside the log cabin. "I dunno. All I'm saying is that this could be a . . . trap?"

At that precise moment, a ball of fire came hurling through the sky, instantly hitting the log cabin and incinerating it to flames.

Seryu, Run, and Kurome all stood behind Koro, who had transformed shortly before the blast. One which must've have been powerful, given that Koro was barely regenerating from the damage it had just sustained. And one that raised a hint of concern in Kurome's eyes as she looked around the burning remains of the log cabin for Wave.

Hearing a loud screech in the sky, the three looked upwards, seeing a massive fearsome flying danger beast. By appearance alone, it looked as if it literally came right out of the pages of European folklore; it was a classic dragon with a long neck, massive body, massive wings, red scales and well capable of breathing flames out of its mouth. Even stranger, though, was the fact that a man was riding on the dragon's back. Based on his clothing and insignia, the man was clearly a member of the Revolutionary Army.

With a psychotic smile, Seryu swiftly used the still recovering Koro to equip herself with a long ranged anti-tank rifle "Taste my number 7: Taizan's Cannon of Justice!" She fired multiple shots each with high destructive power. Each shot hit the beast, but its scales were so durable, that it remained relatively unphased by this barrage

As the dragon prepared to swoop by for another attack, Run snarled. " _Damnit. He knew we wouldn't have much room to maneuver up here, practically making us sitting ducks."_

The monster landed on the burnt remains of the log cabin decoy, in close proximity to the three present Jaeger members. Then, with a loud screech, it flapped its wings in the group's direction, creating a powerful gust of wind. With little room to maneuver, Run, Kurome, Seryu and Koro were all blown clean off the mountain, each falling down towards the depths below.

Wings instantly sprouted from Run's back as he motioned his two comrades to grab onto him. Kuro, having reverted to his normal form, had clung tightly to its master's leg.

The dragon and his rider, witnessing this entire exchange, once again took to the air, flying straight towards the three airborne Jaeger members with its mouth hungrily wide open and tongue and razor sharp exposed.

With his two female companions holding onto him, Run speedily soared higher into the air, high and directly above the mountain's peak, narrowly averting the danger beast' attempt to eat him alive. "If we can just take care of its master, we can end this battle immediately."

While giving chase to its prey, the danger beast let out another terrifying screech, flying up towards him with its mouth open, this time preparing to release another fireball.

Run, Kurome and Seryu briefly looked at each other, all giving a knowing glance on what to do next. Both girls promptly released their grip on Run, falling directly towards the incoming dragon. They fell closer and closer towards the dragon's mouth, looking like they were going to be incinerated by its fireball head on.

However, just as the dragon was about to blast them in midair, Seryu, with another psychotic look on her face, fired her Taizan's cannon of justice at the beast mouth point blank. Even with this, the beast' scales were still too tough to make this a damaging attack, but it was discombobulated; temporarily staggered from getting hit by an anti-tank weapon at such close range. With the explosiveness of Seryu's blast came a cloud a smoke covering the dragon's head. And out from the smoke came Kurome, sword unsheathed, running along the dragon's neck, charging directly towards its rider.

Seeing no other option, the rider leaped off his dragon before Kurome could slice him to pieces. While falling, he whistled at a high pitch. A pitch to which the dragon instantly responded to, twirling in the air to knock both Kurome and Seryu off of it, then swooping down towards its master in an attempt to catch him.

Just before the monster could reach its rider, however, Wave, fully clad in his grand chariot armor , seemingly coming out of nowhere, had leaped above the Revolutionary Army soldier. "Grand Fall!", he said while performing a drop kick.

With that, the danger beast' master crashed into the ground near the remains of the burnt log cabin. The dragon didn't appear to be pleased by this; it flew towards the armored Jaeger, fully intent on retaliating. Wasting no time, Wave landed on the ground and grabbed the dragon's master, miraculously still conscious despite the attack he had just endured. He placed the Revolutionary Army member into a headlock and bluntly spoke into his ear. "If you want to live, I suggest you call your beast off right now."

"What for?", the dragon's master responded. "I know how the Prime Minister works. You'll kill me anyway after you're done."

"You have my word. If you call off your danger beast, we'll still put you behind bars, but we will not harm a hair on your head."

The Revolutionary Army soldier looked surprise, not having expected someone from the Empire to make such a sincere proclamation. He nodded his head and whistled once more, this time with a different pitch than before.

In response, the dragon immediately ceased charging, instead landing atop the burnt remains of the log cabin it had destroyed. Sensing no immediate danger, Run, who had once again saved Kurome and Seryu from falling, landed next to Wave, his wings vanishing as he touched the ground. Seeing Wave in pristine condition brought some momentary relief to Kurome, but there were no doubt more important matters to attend to.

"So", Run said, turning his attention to the dragon's master. "I take it you're the one who started rumors about Revolutionary Army members residing here and that all of this was an attempt to lure us out here so that you could take us out the instant we came traipsing around these mountains."

The Revolutionary Army member was quick to speak up "Your friend here promised me that if I called my dragon off, no harm would come to me."

To which Run sighed, not surprised that Wave would make such a mercifully naïve suggestion. Even still, like Wave, he didn't have a single sadistic bone in his body. "Well, I'm not sure how well that'll go over with Commander Esdeath, but you did comply with us in the end, so I guess there wouldn't be any harm in using non-violent interrogation methods with you. Tell us: Will your danger beast attack us if we take a closer look at it?"

"Not unless I tell it to."

"Good", Run nodded. "Seryu, tie him up. Wave and Kurome, stay right next to me in case something happens. You don't see one's like these too often. Definitely a rarity even among Ultra Class."

Wave, now having released his armored state, accompanied Kurome and Run as they walked around the dragon which was now surprisingly docile despite the ferocity it had shown only a minute ago. They touched its scales, amazed that they were harder than even diamond. It was no wonder Seryu's weaponry couldn't do any damage.

Seeing that her three comrades were preoccupied, a murderous grin appeared on her face. One that sparked fear into the Revolutionary Army member's eyes.

The auburn haired girl pulled a dagger out of her back pocket and placed the blade against the man's neck. Making sure the others wouldn't hear her, she spoke at a low tone. "Where is Night Raid?"

Nervous beads of sweat rolled down the Revolutionary Army member's face. "I don't know."

Seryu hissed in an almost demonic manner and pressed the blade closer to the man's throat. "You're lying. Where are they?"

"I swear. I don't know where they are. Very few people in the army are permitted to have that information."

"Well then you know what?" The expression on Jaeger member's returned to its cheerful and pleasant appearance.

The dragon's master stopped sweating, sensing that his captor had calmed down. "What?"

"That makes you . . . EXPENDABLE!" With one sweep of her blade, she had slit the man's throat wide open. And with that one sweep, her devilish grin had returned as she watched the light fade out of the Revolutionary Army member's eyes. The dragon, having witnessed this entire ordeal, let out a violent screech unlike any other heard thus far.

Wave instantly spun around, expecting to learn that the dragon's master had gone back on his word. Instead, he looked on in horror as he saw his own comrade maniacally giggling at the sight of blood pouring out of the Revolutionary Army member's throat, making what had transpired very clear.

With rage coursing throughout it, it was clear that the dragon was about to release another fireball, this time point blank at all Jaeger members. Completely caught off guard by the beast' response, death seemed all but certain.

However, all of the sudden, the ferocious danger beast fell to its side. Kurome, Wave, Seryu and Run looked surprise, not fully comprehending what had just happened. Though as they further inspected the scene, they noticed another individual present. It was a tall muscular man with spiky blond hair and blue eyes. He wore a dark gray suit of armor, white pants and a red cloak. His shoulder guards were notably large and had yellow tomoe markings on them. Most fascinating of all, his right fist was buried in the beast' rid cage. Said fist was covered in uncanny ebony stones.

"General Budo!", the four Jaeger members exclaimed simultaneously.

The tall muscular man growled. "It's reckless for cubs like you to be coming out here on your own. Why isn't General Esdeath with you?"

Run cleared his throat. "General Budo, with all due respect, she's been gone for nearly two days and we couldn't afford to hold off on investigating the rumors about the rebels being encamped someplace out here."

"And yet look where your recklessness got you", Budo responded. "Had this beast' not been off guard, I would have not have been able to put it down so easily and it would've surely killed you all just then. Diligence in your duties doesn't just mean being zealous in our goal to put down the rebels, but also taking wise courses of action. Had you sent several scouts out here to conduct a preliminary investigation, you would've been able to see through the rebels' ruse. You're fortunate I happened to overhear your plans to come out here by yourselves."

Run bowed his head respectfully. "Of course. You have my apologies. I take full responsibility for this incident."

To which the general smirked. "I hear you used to be a teacher. Good. As punishment for this reckless course of action, over the course of the next six months, you will spending all of your spare time instructing my cadets about the basics in strategic infiltration."

To which Run sighed, but reluctantly agreed. "As you wish."

With that, the group of five prepared to climb back down the mountain. However, Kurome looked closely upon the defeated dragon, sensing that it was a still alive. An inquisitive smirk appeared on her face as she walked up to the only unprotected part of the dragon's body . . . it's eyes. Without hesitation, she stabbed the beast's left eye with her imperial arm, eventually piercing its brain.

* * *

 **[. . . A Dreadful Thing . . .]**

* * *

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the Jaegers, their commander had already returned. Well within the center of the Capital's Imperial throne room, the Empire's strongest general kneeled in front of the throne. The Emperor himself, a naïve young boy, was nonetheless enthusiastically engaged in listening to her report. As always, his most trusted adviser, the gluttonous Prime Minister, stood next to him, partially occupied by whatever scrumptious dish he was enjoying.

"I see", the Emperor nodded. "As a token for your recent victories in the north, you'd like to have annual tax-free requisitions and appropriations sent to this village, Impertinens I believe. But I'm still a little confused. Dare I ask the reason for this request?"

Esdeath looked upon the young boy with sincere eyes, not an ounce of noticeable deceit detected in them. "It's part of an operation I'm running for my own research into human social interactions. The data I collect will be invaluable towards advancing my skills in interrogation. Needless to say, what's valuable to me is valuable to the Empire."

"Well said", the Prime Minister mumbled, still half-occupied with the tasty morsel he was chewing.

Detecting no objections from his adviser, the Emperor responded. "Then consider it as good as done. The amount of requisitions and appropriations you requested shall be sent to this village at once and shall continue to be sent until you no longer need them!"

"Thank you your highness", Esdeath said before rising up and walking away. "That'll be all."

As the Ice Queen moved beyond an earshot away, the Emperor to the Prime Minister, somewhat concerned. "Are you sure its okay to honor her request? If she wants to conduct an experiment, why not here in the Capital?"

A concern which, though valid, didn't appear to unnerve the gluttonous official. "Who cares? She's the most valuable asset in the entire country. If these requests you occasionally grant her contribute to keeping her as useful as she's been, then it's really of no concern what she chooses to do with her free time."

Esdeath made her way out of the palace, finding herself instead roaming the Capital's streets. And so she did; aimlessly at that. Wandering from corner to corner with no real objective, she smiled to herself as she briefly recalled the first night she had spent with the object of her affections. How he had asked her to join the Revolutionary Army. How she had told him that she would not be changed; that she would be the one dominate. " _Love . . . such a dreadful thing_."

But the irony was not lost on her. " _Here I explained all of that to him . . . and yet look at me. How many times now have I behaved uncharacteristically? Taking a stroll simply because I thought it was a nice evening, making permanent arrangements for a village I know nothing about. The former me would have at least made those arrangements contingent upon his obedience . . . and yet that option never even crossed my mind. Is this what it means to be smitten?"_

She kept walking, spotting a couple sitting together on a bench, holding hands. " _Love. There was a time when that sort of display repulsed me. What does it even accomplish? Being so distracted with each other, it wouldn't be hard for a thief to sneak up on them and place them at his mercy. But now . . . with every waking moment, I find myself longing to revel in such foolishness._ "

She walked up to a street merchant, purveying several hairdressing supplies. One of the items on the merchant's stand was a mirror. One she promptly gazed into. " _Love. The cause of this heart-struck look on my face. An expression I couldn't fake even if I wanted to. A look of submission. Almost as if I'm the one to be dominated after all. Such a dreadful thing . . . such a dreadful thing._ "

* * *

 **[. . . Uncertainty thrives on . . .]**

* * *

Elsewhere, at the Night Raid base of operations, it was late in the evening. Tatsumi, the second youngest member had just returned. Almost immediately, the team's leader, Najenda, called a meeting in the war room to discuss the boy's whereabouts for the past two days. The fact that he had been teleported to a distant location via the use of an imperial arm was understandable. The fact that it took him most of the day just to get back to the capital made plenty of sense. However, neither Najenda, Susanoo, Akame, Leone, Mein, Chelsea nor even Lubbock could make sense of one particular detail.

"You mean to tell me you had the chance to instantly get back here last night, but chose not to because you thought you could convince Esdeath to join us?!", Lubbock asked, mouth hanging wide open.

To which Tatsumi sincerely nodded. "That's right."

Just as soon as those words left his mouth, the room erupted into laughter, save Najenda, Susanoo and Akame, Chelsea and Tatsumi. Leone and Mein in particular mockingly pointing at him as they cackled.

Tatsumi looked slightly annoyed. "What's so funny? If she joined us, wouldn't the Revolutionary Army's job be that much easier?"

"Tatsumi!", Lubbock exclaimed, close to splitting his sides. "Did you forget all the things I told you about her?!"

Leone was literally rolling at the floor at this point. "Tatsumi, you'd have about as much luck convincing a wolf to stop eating meat!"

Chelsea rubbed her face with her palm and sighed. "As naive as ever."

The young swordsman shook his head. "Look, I know she's done a lot of horrible things, but over the past few days . . . I can't really explain it, but she seems . . . different. She even agreed to help my village."

Lubbock instantly ceased laughing, taking on a more nonchalant composure, walking up to Tatsumi and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I think I understand what you're getting at."

"You do?", Tatsumi asked.

"Yeah", Lubbock nodded . . . before instantly bursting into laughter once more. "When you're alone for two days on an island with someone who has a hot bod like that, all logic flies out the window! Tatsumi, you dog!"

He fiercely blushed. "Hey, it's not like that!"

Before Tatsumi knew it, Leone was playfully shoving his face into her chest. "Awe, poor Tatsumi! Cramped around that ice-hussy for two days straight. Your big sis is here to make up for lost time!"

Najenda finally spoke up, her words shattering all of the amusement in the room to a deafening silence. "Tatsumi has the right idea."

Words Mein instantly winced at upon hearing. "You can't be serious, boss."

"Deadly serious", she replied in a calculating demeanor. "No one here loathes Esdeath more than I do, but this sudden interest she's taken in Tatsumi here isn't without its advantages. If he can somehow convince her to join our cause or simply even defect from the Empire, then the probability of a successful assault on the capital will increase by at least 80%."

Tatsumi's eyes widened in surprise. "I know she's strong, but she's that valuable to the Empire?"

Lubbock nodded his head. "They don't call her the Empire's strongest general for nothing."

Even Akame offered some insight on the subject. "If she were any less powerful, we would've made plans to assassinate her long ago. She's practically an army unto herself"

Najenda looked in Tatsumi's direction. "In all the years I've known her, her showing this sort of attachment to anyone is a first. If you can convince her to leave the Empire, do so by all means. However, you should keep in mind that Esdeath is a master manipulator. It's also possible that she could just be trying to subtly control you. Whatever the case, be on your guard. And if it comes down to it, you'd best be prepared to end her life. At the end of the day, she is not your friend. She is your enemy. Keep in mind that this woman has been responsible for the rape and slaughter of thousands of innocents. It's because of her and the Empire she serves that Bulat and Sheele are no longer with us."

"I'll keep that in mind." Nevertheless, his verbal compliance was inconsistent with his heart. For in his heart, his leader's words reminded him of the embrace he had shared with the Ice Queen prior to parting ways. Despite all of the horrors he knew she was responsible for inflicting, he did not possess the desire to kill her as he had so many other foes. He didn't want to believe that she could not be changed. He didn't want to view her as an enemy. As long as there was some willingness on her part to do good, perhaps he wouldn't have to even contemplate facing her.

* * *

 **[. . . The Announcement . . .]**

* * *

Night Raid was not the only group congregating with one another at that time in the evening. Back in the imperial palace, well within the Jaegers' quarters, their dining room specifically, Budo and every other general, several high ranking officials, Bol's wife and daughter, and each member of the Jaegers' was present. They had opted to partake in a celebratory meeting over Esdeath's return from nowhere. Such usually wouldn't be cause for a celebration, but the event was created upon the blue haired general's own insistence and due to an announcement she had planned to make.

Wave and Kurome stood in one of the corners, Wave holding a glass of water and Kurome holding a glass with a chocolate milkshake inside, sipping it with a bendy straw.

"This announcement that Esdeath has got planned . . .", Wave noted, attempting to have a conversation. "What do you think it is?"

Kurome indifferently shrugged her shoulders, continuing to sip her chocolate milkshake.

To which Wave sighed, slightly annoyed at his comrade's constant habit. "Say, where did you even get that?"

The black eyed girl simply turned away, keeping her glass out of Wave's reach. "You can't have any."

Holding a glass of his own, one filled with wine, Run approached the two. "If you ask me, the announcement is probably going to have something to do with Tatsumi . . . such as forcing him to marry her and the leader of the Path of Peace being forced to be the minister."

Wave smiled for a moment, but then took on a more serious look. "Run, about earlier. You know, while we were inspecting that danger beast . . ."

"What about it?", the former teacher responded

"We promised we wouldn't harm a hair on that man's head."

To which Run sighed. "Yes. It's unfortunate that he decided to double cross us."

"No, he didn't." Wave's words were suddenly laced with hints of anger. His fists were clenched and it was clear he was doing everything in his power to keep his composure. "Seryu murdered him in cold blood even after we promised him we wouldn't harm him."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were suggesting that Seryu nearly got us all killed. That's a serious accusation to be making about one of our comrades."

"It's not just that. We promised to spare that man's life, but she didn't hesitate to take it away."

Run placed a hand on Wave's shoulder and looked him directly in the eyes. "Lets say you're right. What do you plan do about it?"

Wave looked away with uncertainty. "I . . . don't know."

"Remember what General Budo told us. Zealously upholding your principles is great, but you have to be wise as well. Don't do anything foolish."

Instantly removing all the tension in the scene, Bols and his daughter approached the three Jaeger members, Bols' daughter holding a tray of dinner rolls.

Run, well used to dealing with children, kneeled down to the little girl's height and grabbed a roll for himself. "These look tasty. Did you make them all by yourself?

The little girl nodded her head and smiled. "Mommy taught me how to make them!"

Run took a bite. "Mmmm! These are delicious! We'll have to get you to make these more often"

The girl innocently giggled, taking the former school teacher's praise to heart.

Bols patted Run on the shoulder. "If you keep this up, she'll never want to leave."

On another side of the room, Esdeath was sitting at the head of the dining room table, in the midst of drawing something in her notebook, much to the dismay of an annoyed General Budo.

"Are you even listening to me? You can't just get up and leave the capital when you feel like it", the tall muscular man growled. "These Jaegers of yours need constant guidance!"

"Relax, old geezer", the Ice Queen nonchalantly replied, continuing to draw. "I didn't simply leave the capital. I was teleported out of it against my will. I spent all that time traveling back."

Budo looked astonished. "Teleported? How? And by whom?"

Still more focused on the contents of her notebook rather than the conversation she was having, Esdeath shrugged her shoulders.

Which only made Budo more angry. "What is so important about that notebook that you can't even be bothered to answer questions?!"

She cheerfully smiled, handing the fellow general her notebook. "I'm glad you asked."

Budo scratched his head, somewhat impressed by the Ice Queen's art skills, but unsure of why she was drawing a picture of some teenager. "Who is this?"

"That is Tatsumi. The man I have decided to eventually share the rest of my life with."

"Then I take it this is the announcement you plan to make?"

She shook her head "No . . . but I do suppose it's about time I reveal it."

With that, Esdeath stood up, held a wine glass in her hand and grabbed a spoon from the silverware in front of her. She then tapped the glass with the spoon several times to get everyone's attention. "Good evening, everyone. I'm glad you could all make it. I'm sure many of you are curious as to why I've gathered you all here tonight. The reason is simple. I've called you all here to announce the end of our war against the Revolutionary Army."

* * *

 **[. . . The Leader of the Revolutionary Army . . .]**

* * *

It was very early in the morning; the crack of dawn to be precise. Two weeks had passed since Tatsumi had returned from his two day escapade with the Ice Queen. The sounds of an intense battle could be heard in the Night Raid base's dojo. The sounds of which quickly alerted Mein and Leone from their slumber.

The two women dashed into the dojo, only to find Tatsumi and Akame engaged in a fierce sparring session. Neither were using their imperial arms; both warriors were merely equipped with wooden swords. To the side lines were Susanoo and Lubbock, who appeared to have been watching the battle for some time.

"What's with the all this racket?!", Mein growled. "Can't you tell some of us are trying to sleep?"

To the self-proclaimed genius sniper's annoyance, however, neither Tatsumi nor Akame answered her. Both didn't even appear to acknowledge anyone else's presence in the room besides their own.

Lubbock sighed. "Don't bother. They've been like this for the better part of an hour now. Honestly, I'm surprised you two came when you did. Had this been another attack on our hideout, you would've been dead by now."

Leone halfheartedly chuckled, somewhat inhibited. "When you get hangovers like mine, you can sleep through an entire earthquake."

A carnal look manifested itself on the green haired man's face as he rubbed his chin. "That's good to know."

But Leone was quick to her comrade's implication. "Yeah, but don't let that fool you. If someone were to try and peep on me while I was sleeping, there's no telling how my animal reflexes would cause me to react. Though I'm guessing it'd at very least be pretty painful for whoever was dumb enough to try it." She punched the palm of her hand as she uttered the last five words.

Lubbock nervously grinned. "That's . . . also good to know."

Tatsumi and Akame were deep in the midst of battle. It was a steady stream of swipes, thrusts, blocks and parries, neither giving the other even an inch of breathing room. The duel thus far was in complete contrast to the bout they had during their first meeting.

Amidst the two sword wielding assassins' high paced exchanges, Akame almost instantly flipped over Tatsumi entire body, attempting to strike his head while in midair. The young wielder of Incursio intuitively responded, however, blocking the strike by firmly and horizontally holding his sword above his head. As Akame landed behind him, she speedily performing a half pirouette, using the momentum of her spin to strike Tatsumi from behind. Before he could be hit, Tatsumi spun around, narrowly parrying the strike at the last second.

Mein's mouth was hanging wide open. "Wow . . .was Tatsumi always this good?"

Tatsumi and Akame yet again charged at one another in a dazzling display of dexterity, locking swords as they came into contact. In a surprising show of strength, the red eyed assassin swiftly shoved her opponent out of the lock, making him stagger and effectively breaking his stance. Seizing the opportunity to end the battle, she launched a two handed thrust towards the boy's chest.

In a split instant, however, a smirk appeared on Tatsumi's face, causing Akame's eyes to widen; in a single instant, it had become clear that the boy had intentionally allowed himself to be shoved back in an effort to draw the girl into a false sense of security. It was within a single instant that Tatsumi avoided the thrust aimed at his chest, simultaneously landing a downward two handed slash on Akame's neck.

"Well I'll be . . .", said a befuddled Leone. "Never thought I'd see the day he'd beat her."

Susanoo, stoic and observant until now shook his head. "Look closer."

Closer examination of the two revealed a different picture entirely. Although Tatsumi's sword was brushed against Akame's neck, Akame's sword was firmly brushed against Tatsumi's neck as well.

"So it's a tie?", Lubbock asked.

Susanoo dismissively shook his head once more. What wasn't detected by the other observers was very much noticed by him. "Akame's sword landed a millisecond prior to Tatsumi's."

Mein shrugged her shoulders. "It's just as well. Akame definitely wasn't fighting at full speed."

Leone smirked proudly at the scene before her. "True, but Tatsumi wasn't using Incursio. Either way, the kid's come a long way!"

Tatsumi, still with his wooden sword at the red eyed assassin's neck, began panting. The nonstop duel left him exhausted. "That's too bad. I thought for sure I had you this time."

Akame, still in the same position, was panting as well. "In that last instance, you gave yourself away, making it easy for me to read the intent of your strike.

He dropped his sword, somewhat confused. "Read my intent?"

Akame dropped her sword to the floor, preparing to walk away. "Tatsumi, sometimes you need more than just your eyes and your ears to prevail in battle. Sometimes, you must be able to read what is in your opponent's heart. Once you've learned to do this, your abilities as a warrior will exponentially increase."

At that time, a carefree cheerful tall and slender man with markings on his forehead, long white hair and donned in priest like clothing entered the room. "Excellent insight young lady"

Everyone in the room, except for Lubbock almost instantly took on an aggressive posture towards this intrude. Seeing no other weapons available, Tatsumi picked up his wooden sword and pointed it at this trespasser. "Who are you and how did you get in here?"

But Lubbock placed a hand on Tatsumi's shoulder. "Relax. They call this guy 'The Lord.' He's the leader of the largest religious organization in the Empire: The Path of Peace. He wouldn't harm a fly."

This didn't appear to concern the team's genius sniper. Instead, she aimed her Imperial Arm at this interloper . . . finger on the trigger. "Yeah, well that still doesn't explain what he's doing here, much less how he found our base."

"I can answer that", Najenda said, entering the room alongside Chelsea. "Lubbock is correct. This man is the leader of the Empire's mainstream religion of pacifism. However, unbeknownst to all but a select few, he is also the leader of the Revolutionary Army."

Tatsumi, Akame, Leone, Mein and even Lubbock were completely and utterly shocked as the last few words registered in their minds."

The Lord suddenly took on a more serious composure, more fitting of one leading an army. "That's right. And I've come to you all today to personally issue out Night Raid's final mission."

* * *

 **A/N:** Yep, as I suggested, we really are going down a different branch than the anime and manga! For anyone curious about Syura. Don't worry. I've got special plans for him. As always, reviews, favorites and follows are greatly appreciated! Till next time folks!


	4. Kill the Diplomats - Part One

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Sorry for the delay, boys and girls. I'm a full time defense-attorney now though, hence my comments about having a hectic schedule. Fortunately, I already know what I want to do in each chapter, so I can type the chapters out when I get time. Nevertheless, to make up for my insolence, I'm going to try to release two chapters simultaneously by the end of November or the beginning of December. Or maybe earlier depending on how easy my caseload is. Before we proceed, I'd like to address a couple of things.

Reviews **:** Again, I love reviews, so keep 'em coming. As to fanficfan117, again, sorry for the delay. I meant to get this chapter out last week, but again, hectic schedule. As to Doom Marine 54, yeah, I deleted the guest review you posted yesterday morning. Sorry bro, but I googled your name after finding it a little strange that you'd opt to add a new review for the same chapter you already reviewed weeks ago and it looks like you're a pretty infamous troll, lol. Look, I don't mind trolling (talented ones anyway). I used to do it all the time back when I was younger, but it's an art that requires _subtlety._ For one, if you're gonna use a guest review, don't go using the name you used with your actual account. Mmkay?

 _Favorites/Follows:_ As always, thanks!

 _Story points:_ Keep in mind the rules I posted in the first chapter. If it wasn't mentioned prior to the 14th episode in the anime, I am not bound to it. If I see something I like in the manga, I'll add it here. Otherwise, everything is up for grabs. Also, keep in mind that I'm a strong believer of chekov's gun (google it!). Everything I write is written for a reason. And that's all I'm gonna say for now!

Without further ado . . .

* * *

 _ **Updated 1/17/17 - Fixed prose and grammatical errors.**_

* * *

 _ **Episode 17: Kill the Diplomats – Part 1**_

To the east of the Empire was the vast desert like kingdom, Ali Jinnah. A hot and humid country littered with mountains, cacti, sandy dunes and very little rain; where much travel was conducted with the use of camel led caravans.

At their lonesome, in the middle of a wide, empty, scorching humid desert were Akame and Lubbock. Both were rode on their own camel's back and were fully decked out in thick robes appropriate for such a harsh environment.

Lubbock desperately reached for the gourd shaped canteen strapped to the side of his camel. He had fervidly untwisted the cap, hoping to pour the contents of the bottle down his throat. But as he shook the bottle, not even drop landed on his tongue. Frustrated, he threw the bottle down onto the ground. "How do people live in this country?"

"It's not so bad once you get used to it", Akame replied, the tone of her voice nonchalant as ever. Unlike her companion, despite the climate she was in, she was perfectly composed.

"Of course YOU would say that, but I'm talking about regular people!" He wiped the heaps of sweat from his brow. "It's amazing how we're the only ones who were assigned to travel without an air manta."

Akame shrugged her shoulders. "Have you forgotten already? Unauthorized use of air mantas are outlawed in this country. If people saw us traveling on one, it'd raise plenty of suspicion. Fortunately, our target has access to many."

"Yeah yeah and as soon as we've eliminated him, we can take one of his and pass ourselves off as officials. I get that. But coming all this way by camel is still a pain in the ass."

"Maybe not for long", the Akame smiled, boldly pointing ahead. "Look."

Lubbock shifted his eyes, looking ahead, his eyes exuberant as he gazed towards what his companion was pointing at. It was a small oasis with several tents set near it. Moreover, a robed bearded man was standing outside one of the tents, waving for the two to come forward. Seeing this pumped the green haired assassin full of newfound energy; he leaped off his camel and ran towards the oasis at full speed, much to Akame's astonishment. Upon reaching the pool of water, he plunged his entire body in without regard for composure.

As Akame approached the oasis, the bearded man walked towards her, cheerfully smiling. "Hello there, young lady. If I didn't know better, I'd say you and your friend could use some rest and reprieve."

Socially reticent as ever, she merely nodded her head.

But this didn't bother the bearded man. "I thought as much. By all means, this oasis is free to everyone . . . provided they're willing to make some purchases."

Akame scratched her head, unsure of what the man was getting at; uncertain of his underlying meaning. "Purchases?"

"Where are my manners? My name is Raja Aboo and I lead one of the most famous merchant guilds throughout all of Ali Jinnah. Part of our illustrative services involves being available to wealthy foreigners like yourself out here in the wide open desert. Come, take a look at my wares. Make some purchases and your friend there can help himself to our oasis to his heart's content."

"Just buy something!", Lubbock yelled, backstroking in the calm and cool pool of water.

And so the bearded merchant took Akame to the side, showing off a variety of wares, from gold chains, to sweet perfume, to medallions of various shapes and sizes, to silk dresses and shirts; the merchant had it all. Yet nothing which thus far piqued Akame's interest.

However, as the merchant continued to guide her through his various supplies and trinkets, one particular item caught the female assassin's eyes. "Where did you get this?", Akama hurriedly asked, grabbing an antique wind up music box from one of the nearby shelves.

To which the bearded merchant rubbed his chin. "Ah, that. Remarkable craftsmanship isn't it? A desperate vagrant once sold it to me for a meager amount of coin. Quite the bargain. It peaks your interest though, doesn't it?"

She unreservedly nodded, holding the music box close to her chest.

The merchant held out his hand. "30 gold pieces."

Hearing this, Lubbock leaped out of the water full of outrage. "30 gold pieces for a friggin music-box?! You can get a music box in the Capital for two gold pieces!"

"This is no ordinary music box", the merchant responded, now rubbing the whiskers on his beard. "As you can see, it's custom-made."

And to Lubbock's dismay, Akame appeared to agree, handing the merchant his requested amount without hesitation. "Sold"

Lubbock buried his face into his palm. "Akame, what do you know about haggling?"

To which the red eyed assassin gave her companion a look of slight confusion. "Haggling?"

"Yeah . . . give me the rest of the gold", Lubbock sighed.

As Akame handed her fellow Night Raid companion a medium sized pouch of gold from her bag, Lubbock turned to the bearded merchant. "Lets talk business. We're headed to the city of Ayatollah. You got anything that can make our trip there easier?"

The merchant gave off a knowing look. "Why didn't you say so in the first place? If it's an easier trip you're seeking, what you need is the right supplies."

Lubbock curiously rubbed his chin "The right supplies, huh."

"Correct. And the right supplies just so happen to be my specialty. You could call them . . . the heart of my trade. Come, I keep them in another tent"

The two followed the bearded merchant to the other tent he spoke of, curious to see what would make their trip through the desert less arduous. However, as they reached the tent, the merchant motioned for them to stop. He then looked to the tent. "Numbers 1 through 15, come right out so the customers can see you.

In response, a total of 15 men and women young and old, exited the tent, each clothed in rags. Both Akame and Lubbock's mouths dropped at the sight of this.

The bearded merchant walked proudly across the group, showing them off much like he had his wares. "These will get you very far. They've been groomed well enough to endure this harsh desert all while hauling supplies. What's more, they will obey your every whim. I will sell them to you for 20 gold each."

Lubbock sighed and sternly shook his head. "No thanks. We're not interested."

"Are you sure? They may not look like much, but I assure you they're very talented. If it's not manual labor you're seeking, perhaps something more . . . carnal." The last word uttered with a wink and a nudge.

Lubbock was about to respond, only to find himself caught off guard by his red eyed companion, who had her imperial arm unsheathed and pointed directly towards Raja Aboo's throat.

"Let these people go", she said, her voice cold, certain and direct.

The merchant appeared to be confused about this reaction. "Calm down, young lady. I assure you I'm just trying to make a profit. Surely you can understand . . ."

But Akame would not hear any of it. "I said let them go!"

"Now look young lady. I am trying to be civil. I run a clean operation. I have no wish to shed any blood."

But she remained unphased. "I won't ask again!"

To which the bearded merchant sighed, snapping his fingers. "Abbas, Cid, Hazim. It seems we are going to get some exercise today after all."

Three robed armed and muscular men emerged from the other tents and approached the two Night Raid members. Raja Aboo himself removed a dagger he had had strapped to his side. The entire group then swarmed Lubbock and Akame, intent on taking them with overwhelming force.

Unfortunately for them, their numbers alone didn't muster any kind of advantage. With just a quick twirl of the wires from his imperial arm, Cross Tail, Lubbock swiftly removed the heads of all three of the merchant's henchmen without a moment's notice.

Simultaneously, Akame effortlessly sliced off the hand Raja Aboo had been holding his dagger in, causing him to drop his knees and cry out in pain. "You damn witch!", he cried as he saw murasame's black ethereal markings traveling up his body. "What did I do to deserve this?!"

But Akame ignored him, knowing that any further communication with the man was pointless. She instead watched him silently, waiting until he had breathed his last breath before sheathing her sword and glanced towards all of the slaves. With a warm smile on her face, she said "You're free now."

And though in some circles, perhaps this gesture would've been cause for heartfelt praise and celebration. Instead, most of the slaves present looked blankly into Akame's eyes. Additional slaves came out of the tent, horrified at the sight of the dead bodies they saw lying on the ground. A few of them began to weep, others immediately began digging fresh graves in the ground.

One of the slaves, a middle aged woman, walked towards the red eyed assassin before stretching a hand back and using it to slap Akame across the face.

Akame didn't really flinch at the physical sensation she felt, more concerned with what had actually just occurred. She saved these people from a life of slavery. So why would they react in this fashion?

"Why would you do this?!", the middle aged women cried. "You've doomed us all."

Akame couldn't fathom what this woman was talking about, indicative by the befuddled expression on her face. "I don't understand. Don't you want to be free?"

"Free to do what? Now, thanks to you, we have no place to go."

To which Akame asked, "What about all of the merchandise here in this encampment? I'm sure if you sold it in the nearest city, you could . . ."

Another slave interruptively spoke out. "We have all been branded as slaves. We don't have the right to trade goods and would be executed for trying."

As Akame heard these words, she somberly looked to the ground, coming to the terms with the gravity of her heroism in this instance. "I see."

Lubbock, however, calmly decided to speak up. "It doesn't have to be this way. Once my associate and I have finished our business in Ayatollah, we'd be happy to come back here and smuggle each of you out of Ali Jinnah and you could sell all of this merchandise without having to worry about being killed. What do you say?"

But the same slave that had slapped Akame spat in Lubbock's direction, looking at him with hate and venom in her eyes. "You've helped us enough. We don't want to have anything else to do with you! Leave at once!"

"Suit yourselves", Lubbock said, indifferently shrugging his shoulders while pulling his companion away by the wrist. "Akame, c'mon. Lets go."

She looked upon the group of slaves in disbelief as she was tugged away, for once being less cool and collected than her green haired accomplice.

* * *

 **[ _. . . The prodigal son returns . . ._ ]**

* * *

In the middle of the imperial palace courtyard sat a pre-occupied Prime Minister Honest, enjoying what was evidently a delicious plate of spaghetti and meatballs. Next to him stood an underling, briefing him on a long list of matters that predictably did not grab the Honest's full-attention.

"Thus, as you can clearly see, the Durellione family's new estate is not in keeping with the Empire's zoning regulation 45-6347, and should therefore be required to . . ."

The Prime Minister munched on a handsized meatball. "The DuRellion's have paid ample tribute to the Empire, thus I'm sure you can overlook a pesky zoning violation."

"Very well", the underling nodded his head while look down a long sheet of paper. "But there is also the matter of . . ."

"Enough", Honest interrupted, his eyes fixated on a figure approaching him from the distance. "You will brief me at another time."

To which the underling bowed his head before turning away and leaving the courtyard. At the same time, however, another individual approached the Prime Minister.

Wrapping some spaghetti noodles around a fork and plunging it into his mouth, Honest simultaneously greeted this visitor. "Ah, it's been a while . . . Syura. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

A young man with tan skin, green eyes and white hair casually sat himself at the table Honest was sitting at. "I've just returned from my investigation into the first emperor's hidden remote imperial arm foundry."

"I take it the existence of such a foundry wasn't simply a rumor?"

"No, I was able to locate the place. Most people would not have been able to access a location 15 miles underwater, but my Shambhala makes even that sort of hurdle trivial at best."

"Fascinating. What did you uncover?"

"Unfortunately, there weren't any items of practical value, but I did find some blueprints and research notes that could be of use to your ambitions, father."

Hearing these words, the Prime Minister put his fork and plate aside, deeply intrigued. "Oh? And what would you know of my ambitions?"

Syura smirked, seeing that he now had his father's full attention. "We've had imperial arms for a thousand years now, but still know so little about them. Imagine if what we could accomplish if we knew of a way to bypass their basic limitations. Compatibility? Drawbacks? The inability to use more than one at a time? All things of the past."

"That does sound quite useful", Honest mused, twirling the hair on his beard.

Syura then removed a scroll with detailed blueprints from his pocket, only to dramatically place them on the table. On the scroll was a diagram of an item that resembled a silk glove. "It's called the limit breaker. Gathering the needed materials and manufacturing will probably take a few years, but once enough of these are produced, you can be a lot more selective about who has the privilege of owning an imperial arm."

"Bringing that stubborn bastard Budo's usefulness to an end."

"Ah, that old geezer. Does he still talk of dealing with the Empire's so-called corruption once the Revolutionary Army is crushed?"

The Prime Minister nodded. "It's just as well. According to Esdeath, the war should be over soon anyway. I was planning on having her deal with him then, but with these gloves, finding a suitable replacement for Budo will be much easier."

"Well its been nice chatting with you father, but its been a long day and there's a young lady I met in the schoolyard earlier and it would be rude of me to keep her waiting."

"I'll trust you'll at least be discreet, this time."

Syura started getting up from the table, presumably preparing to head back to his quarters. "No need to remind me, father. I've already had the palace craftsmen sound proof my walls."

"One more thing", Honest said, his eyes narrowing sternly. "Exactly when did you return to the Capital?"

Syura stopped dead in his tracks. He paused for a few seconds, silence deafening the courtyard, only to then say. "Just this morning. Why?"

To which Honest responded, continuing to dine upon his plate of spaghetti. "No reason. No reason at all."

With that, Syura walked away. And just as soon as he was out of sight, he removed a silk glove from his pocket and marveled at it with immense satisfaction. " _Sorry father, but I've got some plans of my own. First things first, I need to get a hold of the right imperial arm. And I know just the one._ "

* * *

 **[ _. . . To kill an ambassador. . ._ ]**

* * *

Although the country's deserts were vast and bleak, the city of Ayatollah appeared to be busy and prosperous. Merchants on every street corner, luxurious water fountains sprinkling in various places, grandiose statues on full display throughout the city.

Unfortunately, the slave trade didn't appear to be restricted to the likes of Raja Aboo. Rather, slaves were placed on full display, prominently being sold throughout the city. Slave traders made sure all of their pieces of human merchandise were branded before selling, in some instances even branding the slaves themselves with a branding iron.

But slavery didn't appear to be of any consequence in this country, much less this city. As several slaves were being branded on a street corner, a man, evidently of great importance, walked right pass them with impunity. The man was in his 60s, was dressed in white silk robes, alongside 10 high ranking guards and an adviser surrounding him at all times. The guards themselves all wore robes suitable for the hot climate, were each masked and each equipped with a semi-automatic rifle.

This man of great importance and his adviser were currently in the middle of a conversation, the adviser sipping tea while talking. "Ambassador Abdullah, is it wise to be traveling out in the open like this?"

To which the ambassador responded. "You worry too much! These rumors are clearly just a tactic by the Grand Empire to improve their bargaining position in today's negotiations."

The adviser, however, didn't seem convinced. "Even if that's true, should we really take such chances here, your excellency?"

"Not to worry. I doubt these rumors of assassins are true, but even if they are, these men surrounding us are some of the king's personal elite guards and the finest protection Ali Jinnah has to offer. As long as they're here, an assassin would be foolish to confront us."

"As you wish your excellency, but I'll feel much safer after we've returned to your office."

With that, the group made its way to the center of the city, entering a refined piece of architecture that looked very much like a tower. Adjoined to this building appeared to be a hangar of sorts, with air mantas flying in and out of it, no doubt the ambassador's private means of long distance travel. The air mantas themselves were unlike any seen in the Empire, all gold in color and each with a small cabin strapped to their backs no doubt to make travel more comfortable as well to differentiate between air manta's in Ali Jinnah and air mantas from other countries.

The Ambassador, his adviser and the guards eventually made their way into a large office room with a custom crafted desk as well as a writing quill and some documents on said desk. There was also the ambassador's portrait hanging on one of the room's walls.

As ambassador Abdullah sat at his desk, he motioned for everyone else to leave. The adviser then turned his attention to the elite guards they had been accompanied by. "Two of you stand guard at this the door at all times. The rest of you are to remain outside the building's entrance. Let no one inside the building until the Grand Empire's delegates arrive and don't let them come up to see the ambassador until I have cleared them myself. Is that clear?"

To which all 10 elite guards responded by saluting simultaneously.

And thus, just as the adviser ordered, two elite guards remained at the door to the ambassador's office. The rest stood outside the building entirely, not only preventing anyone from coming inside, but also actively looking around for anyone engaged in any suspicious activity.

No more than 10 minutes had passed until the door to the ambassador's office had opened again. Ambassador Abdullah, in the middle of paper work and not expecting anyone so quickly, looked up with suspicion. However, his eyes swiftly were at ease as it was only the two elite guards who had been standing outside his door.

The elderly ambassador cleared his throat "Well? What is it? Are the Grand Empire's delegates here?"

"Ambassador Abdullah, we need to take you to safety immediately!", one of the guards sternly remarked.

To which the ambassador responded fearfully. "What seems to be the problem?!"

The other guard spoke up. "Two assassins have broken into the tower. The other guards are barely fighting them off, but won't be able to hold out forever. We need to get you out of here pronto!"

The ambassador pulled a signed card with a picture of an air manta on it out from his desk and anxiously rushed towards the door, turning the nob himself. "Two assassins? So then the Grand Empire was right after all? Let's go at once. We can take one of the air mantas and . . ."

Within an instant, the tip of a katana was protruding from the ambassador's chest. Abdullah's eye bulged with horror, suddenly realizing the horrific truth.

One of the two guards casually pulled the ambassador's card out from his increasingly cold hand. Clearly Lubbock, given his demeanor. "Thanks, but we can ride an air manta just fine on our own."

The other guard, evidently the one who had stabbed the ambassador from behind, pulled the katana out from his back, shaking the blood away from the weapon in one sweeping motion before sheathing it in a hilt that had been out of sight up until that moment. Clearly Akame.

Ominous markings appeared all over the dying ambassador's, but he nonetheless used the remainder of his strength to turn around and gaze upon his murderer. "When . . . did you . . ."

"I can answer that", that guard that had taken the elderly ambassador's card said. "Several hours actually. Your adviser was correct. Walking out in the open while knowing full well about the possibility of assassins being after you was a foolish mistake. We were able to watch and monitor you long enough to come up with a way to replace two of your guards without anyone noticing. The rest was just a matter of striking at the right place and the right time."

"I . . . see", Abdullah coughed, blood spewing out of his mouth, falling face in the floor.

The guard with the card in his hand turned to his accomplice. "We should hurry, Akame. Those laxatives I slipped in his adviser's tea won't last forever.

And thus the two left Ambassador Abdullah's office, discreetly closing the door behind them after making certain that no one was in sight. They walked by an adjoining restroom, Lubbock chuckling at the sound of the adviser audibly experiencing some discomfort. They both subsequently made their way to the entrance of the Air Manta hangar, fortunately reachable without crossing the 8 remaining elite guards standing guard at the tower's entrance.

Directly outside the hangar's entrance was a customs agent sitting at desk and filing paper work. Clearly tasked to keep track of who enters and leaves the city via air manta. Lubbock approached the agent, holding out the pass-card he had confiscated from the ambassador.

To which the customs agent responded, taking the card and meticulously peeling every inch of it with his eyes for several moments before giving it back. "All clear. Enjoy your flight."

Akame and Lubbock, still in disguise, nodded before walking pass the agent and heading into the hangar. Once inside, they marveled at the sight of the dozens of available air mantas all sitting patient and ready for travel.

Sensing the completion of their mission, Lubbock took the opportunity to joyously pat his comrade on the back. "Now this is what I'm talking about! Not a single hitchup! We should work together more often!"

"But this is our last mission", Akame replied rather bluntly.

Lubbock began climbing up the nearest air manta. "Yeah, but . . ."

But before he could utter another word, a shot from a rifle interrupted him. Almost concurrently, Akame's murasame was unsheathed and was postured in such a way as to look as if she had just sliced something inches away from her companion's face.

Lubbock himself, realizing what had just transpired, could barely contain himself. He turned his head in the direction the rifle was fired, seeing three familiar faces. "Jaegars."

Run, Seryu and Kurome emerged from the other end of the hangar, gunsmoke blowing out of Seryu's Taizan's cannon of Justice.

Run clapped his hands, smirking with the utmost confidence. "Impressive. You-the one with Murame. Akame I presume? Your reputation is certainly well earned. You were not only able to react to anti-tank fire coming at you all of the sudden, but you even prevented Seryu's shell from exploding by cutting it in the midair. Had you simply pulled your friend out of the way, you both still would've been caught in the explosion."

Kurome looked cheerful. Showing no hesitation, she jotted towards the two Night Raid members like a cougar ready to pounce. "Sister, is that really you under that mask? You have no idea how happy I am to have run into you here. Just hold tight so I can you add you to my collection!"

Akame rushed at her sister with equal intensity, clashing blades with her the instant they came into contact.

Meanwhile, Seryu plunged her right arm into Koro's mouth, pulling it out and revealing a giant drill instead. "Number 5: Enma's Spear of Justice!" She spiritedly leaped into the air above Lubbock, extending her drill arm and firing it upon her target in the process.

The green haired assassin barely averted her enormous projectile. " _That's right. She's the one who killed Sheele. I've got to be careful._ "

Just as Lubbock had dodged Seryu's attack, a stream of razor sharp feathers came flying in his direction, not detecting them until the last second. " _What the . . ."_

A few feathers grazed Lubbock's arms, but the rest were promptly blocked by a makeshift shield created out of the limitless wires from his imperial arm. "Two on one is not exactly fair, yah know?"

With wings sprouted out of the metallic discs on his back, Run hovered towards his opponent. "As they say, all is fair in love and war."

Seryu removed her massive drill from the ground, revealing a large hole beneath. "Evildoers have no right to speak of fairness."

At that instant, the customs agent and all 8 remaining elite guards marched into the hangar, no doubt suspicious of the crashing and sword clanging sounds coming from within the room.

Lubbock smirked beneath the mask he was wearing, not about to pass up on the opportunity created by this sudden instance of serendipity. He dramatically pointed towards the Jaegar members in the room. "It's the assassins we were warned about! We can't let them reach the ambassador!"

Seeing the Jaegar's attack on what was believed to be two of their own, the elite guards didn't hesitate to proceed opening fire, unknowingly aiding Ambassador Abdullah's murderers. The custom's agent himself was so convinced that he immediately ran away to call in reinforcements.

Run used his great flight speed to maneuver out of the way of fire whereas Seryu leaped for cover behind a fully grown Koro.

Mid-movement, the winged Jaeger shouted to one of his comrades. "Seryu, take care of the small fry. As far as we're concerned, they're all in league with Night Raid."

To which Seryu uttered with a devilish grin on her lips, "Anyone evil enough to help Night Raid won't receive any mercy from me!"

All the while, Akame and Kurome continued their battle uninterrupted, Akame breaking out of a blade lock with a swift kick to her sister's stomach.

Kurome, having been knocked back several feet, took a few moments to regain her composure. She then sighed in disappointment. "It's no good. With all of my enhancements, I thought I had finally bridged the gap between us, but you've somehow gotten even better since last time."

Hearing her sister say, Akame firmly gripped the hilt of imperial arm and looked her dead in the eyes. "You're correct. At the rate this battle is going, there's no doubt that you will die."

"Yatsufusa!" Kurome raised his sword in the air, black sparks of energy flashing all around her. "It's unfortunate. I wanted to finish you quick and painlessly, but now it's going to be a little messy. Sorry sis."

Akame watched carefully as two beings began to claw their way out of the ground around her sister. She opted not to use this moment to attack, instead erring on the side of caution. Upon crawling out, she noticed two danger beasts at Kurome's side. One was a fearsome brown haired muscle bound ape, 5 times Kurome's size. The other was a green menacing like creature with red spots and bulging yellow eyes, about Kurome's size and with its eyes shifting in different directions with every passing second.

"I hope you like them. The big oaf on the right? He's called the Apeman. The one on the left? He's called the Kaiser frog."

Without pause, the Apeman ran towards the red eyed assassin, its fists raised high, preparing to smash. Of course, though it clearly had a lot of power based on looks alone, its speed was clearly no match for Akame's. Rather, just as the beast smashed its fist in her direction, she had already jumped in the air above it faster than normal human eyes could see. But just as quickly as she had moved, an elongated tongue with a sharp hook on the end had pierced its way through her flesh, no more than a centimeter below her rib cage.

Beneath the mask she was wearing, Akame winced in pain. She landed on the ground as it ripped the tongue out of her side, her own blood soaking garments as she did. " _Had I had not seen that at the last instant . . . have to deal with the frog first. With that kind of speed, there's no question who the bigger threat is."_

Disregarding the wound that had been inflicted, Akame dashed towards the Kaiser frog, her movements yet again untraceable to the normal human eye. The frog, however, didn't appear to have any trouble registering her movements, its hooked tongue instantly lashing out towards her once more. Seeing the incoming fleshy appendage flying towards her, the red eyed assassin jotted to the side. But the Kaiser frog's tongue simultaneously jolted in her direction. Akame proceeded to jot in another direction, only for the tongue to follow her once more. This continued with a dozen additional high-speed movements from Akame, only for the frog's tongue to keep up with her at every turn, matching her speed.

Akame continued to move, this time sensing the Apeman behind her, once more attempting to crush her with its fist. She instinctively prepared to dodge, only to recall what happened the last time she tried this. Evading the Apeman's attack would give the Kaiser frog enough time to tag her again. On the other hand, not evading would surely result in her getting crushed, if not killed. Weighing her options, she did the only thing she could afford to do under the circumstances.

She leaped over the Apeman's head once more, yet again being punctured by the Kaiser Frog's tongue simultaneously. However, Akame maneuvered well enough to again keep the tongue from piercing a vital organ, the tongue yet again being a centimeter from crushing her ribcage. In her mind, a worthwhile sacrifice, for although she sustained another injury, she was in the perfect position to decapitate the Ape like danger beast. Still in midair and with blinding speed, she swung her blade at its neck.

But Akame looked surprised. Although the blade hit and pierced the beast's skin, it was only by a few centimeters. An imperial arm that had been used to cut people and danger beast in half on many prior occasions proved not be sharp enough to slice through any more than a trinket of the monster's skin. What's more, the usual poison-induced markings that appear all-over one's body when cut by murasame didn't appear on the beast.

"That won't work, sis", Kurome remarked, watching her sister's struggle. "The Apeman's skin is about as hard as reinforced steel and mere poison is useless against anything in my collection."

Away from the two sisters, Lubbock and Run were squaring off. Run flying towards Lubbock while yet again firing a stream of razor sharp feathers and Lubbock proceeding to defend himself once more with a makeshift shield made entirely out of the wires from his imperial arm. Having blocked his opponent's entire barrage, the green haired assassin then created makeshift harpoon out of his wires, using all of his strength to throw in the Jaegar member's direction. An attack which would've surely slain an ordinary adversary. But Run was no ordinary adversary. Not remotely perturbed by a harpoon flying at him, he swayed to the right and continued flying towards the green haired Night Raid member, his hand stretched out, preparing to fire a barrage of razor sharp feathers at close range.

Though Lubbock wasn't done yet. The makeshift harpoon he had thrown had one nearly invisible wire attached to it and had suddenly spun around 180 degrees, now on the path of running the blonde Jaegar through from behind.

But before the harpoon could pierce Run, his eyes widened in superb clairvoyant realization and he once again jolted his body out of the way of incoming fire. This time, however, he didn't escape without injury. He avoided being impaled, but wasn't quick enough to avoid the harpoon messily cutting through his shoulder.

Run proceeded to land on the ground to catch his breath, clenching his shoulder with one of his hands. " _It's been a while since I've fought someone who extensively uses their head."_

Lubbock swiftly caught the wires that he had used to create his makeshift harpoon. " _Tricking this guy won't be easy. I only slightly tugged my index finger to pull that off, but he still noticed it and dodged just in the nick of time._ "

Run modestly laughed to himself, his pride unaffected by his adversary's attack. "You've got some talent there, assassin. Tell me, how would you like to become a Jaegar? With Dr. Stylish gone, we could use a replacement. Whatever Night Raid is giving you, we'll double it."

To which Lubbock grinned beneath his mask with a lecherous smile. "Tempting. How are the Jaegar's women?"

"One of them proclaims to be spoken for. The other two are both present."

Of course, the green haired assassin shivered at the thought, "A sadistic psychopath or a short haired Akame. Yeah . . . I'll pass."

Run shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself. By the way, your friend seems to having trouble dealing with 'short haired Akame.'"

Lubbock glanced in his comrade's direction, noting the blood stains in her outfit and how she was continually having to dodge the Kaiser's frog hook embedded tongue.

Run confidently smirked. "You're welcome to go and offer her some assistance."

Lubbock dismissively waved his hand at his opponent's suggestion. "Thanks, but no thanks. Don't think I haven't noticed that those guards are giving your other teammate some trouble as well. If I went to help Akame, you'd go help your other teammate and it'd quickly become a 3 on 2 battle."

And it was just as Lubbock had assessed; Seryu was indeed experiencing difficulty. True to their title as elite, they lived up to it, not a single one of them having a scratch on him despite their battle just far. The Ubiquitous girl used Kuro to switch from the drill-like spear she had been using to a weapon she referred to as 'Number 1: Shinkou's Ball of Justice', a large flail which surely had the potential to take down a large number of opponents all at the same time.

But unfortunately for her, with every swipe of her flail, the elite athletically outmaneuvered her, pelting her with their semi-automatic rifles simultaneously. It was as if they had been trained in style much like the Grand Empire's Imperial Fists. And their gunfire had been taking its toll; tears, holes and electrical sparks scattered all across Seryu's body. If not for the mechanical modifications she had undergone, she surely would've perished after one round these relentless attacks.

Seryu gritted her teeth. Not at the damage she was receiving. But rather at the apparent success of what she thought of as the 'tenacity of evil.' "Koro, lets show these villains why justice will always prevail."

Meanwhile, Akame continued her bout with her sister, evading the Kaiser frog's tongue at high speed intervals. All the while, Kurome looked on with amusement. "It won't be long sis. It was hard enough beating them individually? But together? Even you don't stand a chance."

"Lets just see about that", the red eyed assassin said, leaping, ducking and dashing out of the way of the Kaiser frog's repeated tongue swipes. Undeterred by the trickles of blood leaking down her sides, she continued the dance, the frog's tongue following her every move, the distance between the hook and its target decreasing by a centimeter each second.

Kurome was quick to notice this. " _Her wounds must be slowing her down._ "

Akame continued to avoid the frog, jotting out of the way in all sorts of directions. But it was no use. The danger beast amphibian's hooked tongue was closing the distance more and more. Until finally, Akame was once again in exact same position she had been in earlier, the Apeman preparing to smash her with its fist. She painfully recalled all too well what happened last time she took the time the dodge the ape's assault, but . . . to Kurome's surprise, dodged once more in the exact same fashion.

At that very instant, the frog's tongue came flying towards Akame once more. Only this time, the hook ended fleshy appendage came to a sudden hault, inches from piercing its target. Kurome looked surprised, uncertain of what had just transpired. But as she took a closer look at the scene, it all became clear. The center of the Kaiser frog tongue . . . it was tied in a tight knot.

" _Of course",_ the black eyed Jaegar surmised. " _Her wounds didn't affect her speed. She only made it look like she was getting slower so that I would focus entirely on closing the distance, giving her the opportunity to dodge in a way to cause that to happen."_

Sensing what was about to happen, the Kaiser frog tried to retract its tongue as quickly as possible, but it was too late. For before the tongue could even get back into its mouth, Akame sliced it off from the knotted end with one swipe from her imperial arm, the tongue becoming a fraction slower after being knotted. Then, with her superhuman speed, she bursted towards the frog itself, performing a downward slash between its eyes and slicing its entire body in half.

At that moment, the Apeman charged towards Akame from behind, attempting to succeed where it had thrice already failed. But unfortunately for it, Akame's speed was far too great' for all the beast managed to hit was thin air once more. And without the Kaiser frog to assist it, it was nothing more than a side-hazard to be kept track of. Just as the Apeman had swung its fist through thin air, Akame herself blitzed towards Kurome, hoping to continue the duel she had been involved in earlier.

Kurome happily obliged, blitzing towards her sister simultaneously. "How long can you keep this up, sis?"

Akame, didn't answer, but was quite mindful of the blood that was leaking out of her sides. She was already feeling somewhat light headed and was sure to lose if this battle weren't to be ended quickly. Though before the two could clash, they both observed something peculiar through the corner of their eyes. A multitude of miniature missiles were hurling towards them. Not just them, bust just about everything inside the hangar.

It was within a split instant that red eyed assassin considered her options, quickly realizing that avoiding the missiles was impossible. The way they were dispersed and the sheer amount of them, they were bound to hit just about everything inside the hangar.

During that moment, the Apeman grabbed Akame from behind. It was the danger beasts' first successful contact with the assassin since the start of the battle. If not for her being distracted by the missiles, this effort would've surely failed. Oddly enough, however, the beast did not use this opportunity to pummel the life out of the girl. Rather, the Apeman quickly placed her on the ground and shielded her with its body.

Akame, instantly realizing what transpired, cried out. "Kurome! No!"

The younger of the two sister's simply looked in her older sister's direction and smiled cheerfully before the missiles came bombarding down upon the immediate area.

On the other side of the hangar, Lubbock and Run had already reacted to this sudden danger. Run had wrapped himself in the two wings on his back whereas Lubbock had erected a barrier completely comprised of wires at the last second.

" _Seryu, you idiot!"_ , Run snarled, fully aware of the source of this current predicament.

Indeed, Seryu, laughing maniacally, stood in the center of the hanger with two missile launchers attached to her shoulders. "Number 2: Suzaku's Holy Wrath!"

A full stream of miniature missiles fired all around the place, not only killing the remaining Elite guards, but also the remaining Air Mantas that had yet to escape the hangar in fear of the chaos of the battle thus far.

Seryu continued firing for another 10 seconds, until finally stopping to see what had become of her opponents. She surveyed the battlefield, pleased that the evildoers who had wronged her had been punished in the name of justice. Surprisingly, the hangar was still intact, although it was clear that the building was barely stable.

Akame pushed the Apeman off of her, instantly realizing that the beast was oddly unresponsive. It laid on its back, eyes closed, completely immobile. She then turned her attention to the place her sister had last been standing, that area now being covered in rubble. The red eyed assassin frantically started removing said rubble, her eyes full of worry and concern.

Within several moments of tossing bricks, pipes and damaged floor fixtures aside, she saw Kurome's face, eyes closed and looking rather peaceful. Akame checked her pulse, but didn't feel anything. Still masked and disguised as an elite guard, one could only wonder what kind of look was present on her face, but it was no doubt one which she seldom allowed others to see. Nonetheless, it made no difference. For before anything else could transpire, Kurome's eyes flew wide open, causing Akame to instantly leap backwards, her hand tightly clutching the hilt on her imperial arm.

The twin sister swiftly rose up from the ground. Rather than immediately continuing her duel, she took the time to do some stretches and pop her knuckles. "Ah, much better."

Akame was puzzled to say the least. She could have sworn she just watched her sister die. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Surprised?", Kurome responded. "It's Yatsufusa's trump card. Any time I would otherwise die, by removing the essence of one of my puppets currently in use, I can keep myself from dying. I knew that with a weapon like Murasame, there was no way you'd be able to kill Apeman, giving me a perfect shield just in case something like this happened."

Akame promptly turned her head, seeing no sign of the Apeman. What was its body moments ago was now just a pile of dust. What's more, she noticed that the light head sensation she was feeling earlier had worsened. She was losing more and more blood the more time passed.

Not missing a beat, Kurome gripped the hilt of her blade and casually approached her older sister. "It's over. Maybe at your best, you would've stood a chance, but you'll never beat me like that."

Akame just about fell to her knees, rapidly feeling her strength parting from her. She held herself up with her imperial arm, but found herself unable to do much else in this situation.

To this, Kurome raised her sword into the air, preparing to strike Akame down. But before she could deliver the coup de grace, a familiar set of wires wrapped themselves around the assassin's body like a lasso and pulled her away.

Almost like a yo yo, Akame was hurled into Lubbock's arms. "Gotcha."

Seryu and Kurome once again at his side, Run walked towards the two Night Raid assassins, intrigued by this latest development. "Well well well. So much for preventing this from becoming a three on one battle."

Lubbock looked around, assessing the situation. Seryu, though damaged from her skirmish with the elite guards, appeared more than capable to continue fighting. Kurome was oddly in pristine condition, despite having just gone toe to toe with one of Night Raid's strongest members. The situation looked dire to say the least.

Run smirked in approval of what appeared to be an overwhelming checkmate. "If you surrender now, I might be able to persuade our commander to only break half of your bones before killing you, but that's only if you're willing to cooperate."

"Another generous offer?", Lubbock chuckled. "Keep this up and people might start thinking the Jaegars are only mostly bad instead of out-of-their-minds bad."

Run was equally amused. "We try."

The green haired assassin swiftly removed his robe, revealing his regular attire, but still hiding behind the elite guard mask he had absconded. "I'm going to have to pass you up on your offer, but maybe I can interest you in an offer of my own."

To which Run, being readily observant, instantly realized what his cunning adversary was up to. On the interior of Lubbock's robe were dozens of grenades all taped to the cloth. They also each appeared to be connected to the nigh-limitless wires from his imperial arm.

Lubbock then sternly looked into the three Jaegar eyes and "My offer is 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . ."

"Kurome! Seryu!", Run shouted, pulling his two comrades towards him before creating yet another protective shield with his wings.

Instantly, yet another explosion filled the area. And with the damage the hangar had already sustained from Seryu's missiles, this one was enough to cause the entire building to collapse into itself. Run's wings were fortunately durable and resistant enough to not only shrug off the blast, but also the tons of concrete that fell onto them as the hangar started falling apart.

With his razor sharp feathers, Run sliced his way out of the rubble and immediately looked around to see what had become of the two Night Raid assassins he had cornered moments ago. But to his great misfortunate, they were nowhere in sight. " _Damnit._ "

The three Jaegars looked around the hangar's rubble remains, attempting to figure out whether their targets died in the explosion or escaped. But as they did this, the customs agent and a legion of city guards arrived on the scene. "There they are! They're the ones here to kill the ambassador! Seize them at once!"

Kurome began to approach the group. "I'll take care of this."

But Run swiftly grabbed her shoulder from behind. "No. Our priority is Night Raid."

"But she could still be alive under the rubble!", Kurome retorted.

To which Run shook his head. "Neither of them are under the rubble. If you'll recall the earlier part of our scuffle, Seryu drilled a sizable hole through the floor in an effort to hit the one using the wires . . . the imperial arm referred to as Cross Tails, if I'm not mistaken. Just before he used those grenades, he was standing right next to that hole. When we take into account that this city has an extensive sewer network, it's obvious what they did."

"I see", Kurome responded before resheathing her imperial arm.

"Good, then let's flee for now and pick up our search in some place more inconspicuous."

* * *

 **[ _. . . Akame's wish. . ._ ]**

* * *

A few hours passed since the skirmish within the Air Manta hangar. The sun had long gone down and Akame found herself waking up in a daze. As she opened her eyes, she detected a foul odor; the aroma of raw sewage filled her nostrils. It did not take long for her to become more conscious of her surroundings, quickly becoming cognizant of the fact that someone was carrying her on his back. What's more, his hair was light green. "Lubbock."

"Bout time you woke up", he responded. "Had me worried there for a bit."

"I remember you hopping in the sewer before I passed out. How did we get back here in the open desert?"

"I only stayed in the sewers long enough to temporarily stitch your wounds."

"But the Jaegars . . ."

"Don't worry. I took care of that. I knew the blonde one would figure out what I was up to, so I sent them on a wild goose chase. According to my research, the one who killed Sheele has an imperial arm that has the ability to detect scents. So I took the robes and masks we stole from the elite guards and placed them in two random locations within the sewers."

"But won't she still be able to detect out scents?"

A wincing look of disgust appeared on Lubbock's face as he heard her say this. "Not exactly. I kind of rolled the both of us around in some . . . well, you don't wanna know. The point is that we're going to need week long showers after this. And Miss Najenda won't wanna be within 10 feet of me until then!"

Akame seemed amused about something, giggling to herself as her comrade said this.

Lubbock wasn't sure what to make of her sudden laughter. "You know . . . that's not the kind of thing you'd think a lady would find funny."

"No, it's not that. It's just Najenda . . . why are you always staring at her?"

"What?! Who told you I did that?! Was it Tatsumi? The next time I see him, I am going to . .

"It's something I've noticed before Tatsumi even joined our group", Akame interrupted.

"Oh. Well . . . the thing is . . ."

"I won't pry, but you might want to be more open with her. With our profession the way it is, you never know when your last chance is going to be."

"You're right", he sighed before smirking. "But enough about me, lets talk about you. Is there a man in little Miss Akame's life? Someone who catches her eye? It's Tatsumi, isn't it?"

"No", she bluntly replied. "Tatsumi and I are just friends."

"It's just as well. From the looks of it, you'd be competing with Esdeath, Leone and . . . maybe Mein. The jury is still out on that last one."

In complete contrast to her usual serious demeanor, she continued to smile. "When I think about it, this is the first time we've . . . 'hung out.'"

"Weird, right?"

"A little."

Just as Lubbock took another step across the open desert, a trinket fell out from one of his pockets. It was the wind-up box Akame had purchased from Raja Aboo earlier in the day. The green haired assassin bent down to pick up this antique item, taking a moment to inspect its features as soon as he had grabbed it. "There's something special about this, isn't there?"

"My sister and I didn't always live in the Grand Empire. We were actually born here in Ali-Jinnah. Our mother died not long after she was born. Our father hardly ever wanted to have anything to do us, blaming us for why he was so poor. So I took it upon myself to be the one who looked out for Kurome. When she was hungry I'd steal food-often sweets. When she was sick, I'd steal medicine. When she was sad, I'd cheer her up."

"Sounds like you two were inseparable."

"In those days, we were. One day, Kurome and I were looking through our mother's old things. Father had told us to throw them away since he thought it was all useless junk cluttering the house. As we sorted through them, we stumbled across what we thought to be treasure; it was that music box you're holding. Kurome and I immediately dropped what we were doing, went into our room and played it for hours. Watching and hearing all the little parts and sounds mesmerized us to no end, but more importantly, whenever we played it . . . it felt as if we were still with our mother."

Lubbock continued to observe Akame's trinquet. " _No wonder she clung to this so tightly._ _It must mean the world to her_."

"Eventually, our father caught wind of this. He noticed how happy we were as of late and it really angered him for some reason. One day, I was a bit careless. Kurome insisted I let her steal sweets from one of the merchants for a change while I stay home and listen to the music box. And so I did. Kurome brought the sweets home, but not without being seen evidently as the merchant stopped by our house not long after Kurome returned. The merchant threatened my father, telling him that he'd turn us all in to the city guards if we didn't pay him back. So my father did something that shocked me to this very day. He walked into our room, dragged us both by the arm and sold us both to the merchant like it was no big deal. We cried and cried, begging him not to do it, but he didn't care. Like a lot of merchants in this country, that merchant also happened to be a slave trader, so he didn't mind. Gaining two children at the loss of a couple of sweets was 'good business', he called it. Kurome reached for my mother's music box before we were dragged out the house, by my father snatched it away, presumably with the intent to sell it for some easy gold pieces."

"So that's why you reacted the way you did around that slave trader we ran into earlier?"

Akame nodded her head, anger somewhat filtering her voice. "That slave trader forced us to do all sorts of . . . demeaning things. Things no one should ever be made to do. I hated every moment of it. And I hated my father for subjecting us to that hell in the first place. But I couldn't let Kurome fall apart, so I lied to her every step of the way. I kept telling her things would get better. That our father would regret what he did and come buy us back. But that never happened. It wasn't until several months had gone by that we were sold to the Grand Empire as part of a rigorous recruitment process for the military's assassins division."

Lubbock curiously rubbed his chin, pondering on what he was hearing. "There's still one thing that doesn't add up. You obviously still love your sister. Why do you also want to kill her?"

"Upon joining the Grand Empire's assassin's division, the first thing our commander did was place all siblings into different groups. He reasoned that it would be bad for us to depend on each other. So he separated us and made sure we couldn't contact one another. I didn't see Kurome again for 9 years; it was when I made up my mind to defect from the Empire. Najenda had insisted I leave immediately, but I decided to go find my sister and take her with us. I managed to sneak into her barracks one night. Initially, she was happy to see me, hugging me on sight. I then told her about about my plans to join the Revolutionary Army. Upon hearing this, she didn't hesitate to push me aside, telling me I was a traitor. I pleaded with her, but it was as if she could not be reasoned with. What's more, I remember my sister being sweet and gentle when we were younger, but this one was warped and psychotic, acting much the way she was during the battle earlier. We briefly fought, but I didn't want to kill her and thus left rather than finish her off. I then decided to infiltrate the Imperial Records office in an effort to find out why my sister had changed so much since I had last saw her. Apparently, she had been used as a test subject to find a suitable user for Yatsufusa. They had been subjecting her to all sorts of mind and body enhancing drugs, making her better able to manipulate and influence her puppets during combat. However, the drugs took their toll over the years. She's lost just about every trace of her sanity and there's no way to reverse the damage. Besides what her fellow Jaegars are seeing, there's very little left and soon, even that will be gone. Right now, she can't even tell the difference between her puppets and an actual living being."

Lubbock was taken aback; he immediately realized what his comrade was implying but could hardly believe it. "So then . . . that's why you want to kill her? To put her out of her misery."

"That's right", Akame replied, the sorrow in her voice as plain as day.

* * *

 **[. . . _Mission Failed?_ . . .]**

* * *

Twelve hours earlier, in the nation west to the Grand Empire, two of the other Night Raid members were partaking in a mission similar to Akame and Lubbock's. This was the nation of Reispin. Whereas Ali-Jinnah was known for its vast sandy deserts, Reispin was the opposite, full of grassy jungles and rivers. Within one of these very grassy jungles, Mein and Leone stood back to back in the center of a group of armed guards, each pointing their rifles at the two. Both Night Raid members had their hands up, reaching for the sky.

Night Raid's talented sniper didn't appear too pleased with their predicament. "A fine mess you've gotten us into."

Leone's temperament was more along the lines of hilarity. "Oh c'mon, lighten up. It could be a lot worse than this, couldn't it?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Woot, the end of another chapter! As you can see, I've made some changes here to Akame and Kurome's back story as far as anything reflected post-episode 14 goes. I'm trying to do an alternate take on the anime, so that doesn't just mean writing about Tatsumi and Esdeath (though they are the two key characters in this fic). In addition to advancing the plot, I'd like to flesh out the characters for each member of Night Raid. As another review and I agreed in a private discussion, that's a serious weak point in this story. Don't worry, everything ties together here. Chekov's gun folks!

Thoughts? Hate it? Love it? Meh? Feel free to favorite, follow or leave a review! Lemme know what you think of this fourth chapter in this _Down a different branch_ AKG installment. Till next time! :D


	5. Kill the Diplomats - Part Two

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 **A/N:** Do my eyes deceive me? Did I just complete a chapter in less than a month? Yosh! I sure did! What can I say? I really liked writing this chapter. I had intended to hold off posting this until I completed the next, but decided against it. If I've got a chapter complete already, why NOT upload it?

Anyways, as always, thanks for the reviews, favorites and follows folks! Another special shout out to **DoomMarine54** , who likes this fic so much, he not only submitted 3 reviews, but also sent me multiple private messages in an effort to get me to see the light of his sheer appreciation! He is too kind!

In response to the most recent guest reviewer who reviewed the 4th chapter on November 1, thanks for your review and your feedback. I don't anticipate this fic being short per se, especially if I keep writing chapters as long as this one, but I see where you're coming from. The manga is 60 chapters, but I'm certainly not going to cover everything it covered. I'm simply writing from the standpoint of what the anime could've been. I'll let you in on this much: By the end of this fic, there's going to be room for a sequel, but that's all I'm gonna say for now! You're right to be mindful of chekov's gun, but I'd rather not comment on how I intend to resolve the Akame/Kurome subplot right now! ;)

Anyways, without further ado . . .

* * *

 _ **Updated 1/17/17 - Fixed prose and grammatical errors.**_

* * *

 ** _Episode 18: Kill the Diplomats – Part 2_**

Days before Ambassador Abdullah's murder, the Jaegar's were all sitting in their conference room in the Jaegar wing of the imperial palace. Esdeath was yet again asking Bols numerous questions about love, diligently writing down his every word as if it were gospel.

"So he hugged you back did he?", Bols asked, scratching his chin. "That is a good sign."

"I thought so too, but he hasn't done much else.", Esdeath responded. "In my research thus far, I have heard much about this zone of friends and how undesirable of a position it is to be in."

Bols laughed. "Ah, you mean the friend zone?"

"Do you think I am in this friend zone? And if so, what tactics might I employ to move beyond its nefarious circumference?"

"I can't say for sure. You could try asking him"

"Could that work? But what if he says I am within the friend zone's perimeter? No no, much too risky at this stage."

"Have you tried doing something you both consider fun?"

"Fun? Hmm, fun. Battle, torture and hunting. We briefly fought side by side while we were on that southern island, but I did not get the opportunity to ascertain whether he particularly enjoyed it. As to the other two, I'd need further inquiry. Why do you ask?"

"It wasn't until my third date with my wife that she really fell head over hills for me. Instead of her cooking a meal for me or me cooking a meal for her, we decided to prepare the meal together. It was then that we discovered that we had a mutual passion for cooking. 6 months later, we were happily married."

"Fascinating", Esdeath said, deeply intrigued. "So if Tatsumi likes battle, torture or hunting as much as I do, he's as good as mine?"

"I wouldn't go that far, but . . ."

"Excellent", she dreamily interrupted. "I can't wait until our next meeting!"

To which Bols sighed, getting the feeling that his commander was only cherry picking his advice.

With that, the Ice Queen stood up from her chair at the table and looked upon the five Jaegars in a commanding fashion. "You've all got your orders. "I'll trust you will all follow them to the letter."

Upon seeing each Jaegar give her a firm salute, she gracefully exited the room.

With their fearless leader gone, Run, like always, took charge of matters, given that he was more or less the group's second in command. "We should begin making preparations at once."

As usual though, Wave appeared to be the only one willing to give said matters any additional thought. "I know Esdeath assigned our teams for this mission, but maybe we should go ahead and go to Ali Jinnah and Reispan together. It would certainly increase our chances."

Run shook his head in disproval. "Negative. The commander gave us these orders, so we'll stick to them."

Bols encouragingly placed his hand on Wave shoulder. "You don't need to worry. Good ol' Bols will have your back throughout the mission!"

"That's not what I'm worried about." Wave sighed while excusing himself from the room.

He proceeded to briefly roam the palace hallways before making his way to the nearest balcony. From that vantage point, much of the capital could be seen, making it a sight to behold. Wave leaned against the balcony rails, evidently lost in thought. He recalled the events in the mountains weeks ago when he discovered his comrade, Seryu Ubiquitious had murdered that Revolutionary Army member he had subdued. How the girl laughed chaotically about her sadistic actions. How she didn't even appear concerned about the danger she placed her teammates in. " _Why is someone like her in the military?"_

Of course, such contemplation would have to be saved for later, as someone poked the former navy member on the back a couple of times, interrupting his thoughts. He turned around. "Kurome?!"

"We're about to head out to Ali Jinnah", she said stoically. "But if you run into my sister, only beat her half to death."

"You heard Run back there didn't you? Esdeath gave us orders to kill if possible", he responded.

Kurome looked directly into his eyes, still nonchalant. "It will be fine. Just beat her half to death then bring her to me."

Wave sighed. "Fine, but you've gotta do something for me as well."

To which Kurome raised one eyebrow, unsure of what he would request.

He gave her a thumbs up sign while grinning from ear to ear. "Be careful out there, alright?

"You don't have to worry about me", she responded, swiftly turning around and walking away.

Wave found himself cringing at his own actions. _"Oh man. That must've looked super lame. Why did I do that?"_

* * *

 **[ _. . . Sin Esperanza . . ._ ]**

* * *

Within the western nation of Reispan, well below the outskirts of one of its thick and grassy jungles, was a small valley containing an even smaller town called Sin Esperanza. The town bordered a massive lake. And to the edge of the lake was an even more massive dam overlooking everything within the area.

Leone and Mein were sitting idly by behind bars in the town jail house. The jail cell they were in was cold, dark and dusty. And two young Night Raid women had been stripped of their imperial arms and bound with hand cuffs.

Despite the circumstances, Leone was still in high spirits. "Look at the bright side, Mein! Now you get to spend more time in your home country!"

Mein was practically fuming however. "I already told you this isn't my home country! I was born on the borders of the Grand Empire! Besides, we wouldn't have to spend more time here if you would have just gone with my plan to let me snipe this Reispan ambassador!"

"C'mon, you know that way would've taken way too long to set up. This way is much easier and more direct."

"How is getting captured and getting our weapons taken away much easier?"

Leone pondered for a few moments before grinning from ear to ear. ". . . it'll come to me."

"WHAT?!", Mein shrieked. "You mean to tell me you don't have a plan?!"

"Relax. Like I said, it'll come to me. Just wait."

"What part of saying 'it'll come to me just wait' should I be relaxed about?!"

Just before Mein could continue to bicker, a middle aged woman drew near. She had cropped black hair and was donned in a prestigious buttoned black robe that readily revealed her cleavage as well as her bare toned legs. Alongside two guards with assault rifles, she approached the two Night Raid members' containment cell until finally looking upon them face to face. "So, I take it you two are the assassins I heard about,

Mein looked surprised. "You heard about us?"

"Aye, that I did. The Grand Empire warned me that assassins might try to come after me soon. I had assumed that they were simply trying to improve their bargaining position in our upcoming negotiations. The Grand Empire is useful to an extent, but isn't exactly trustworthy. Nonetheless, it seems they were telling the truth for once as why else would two lovely foreign pretty young things like yourself be wandering outside of a town I would just so happen to be visiting today?"

"We like the booze and we like scenery", Leone smirked. "But mainly the booze."

"And in your efforts to admire the 'booze and the scenary', you just so happened to be carrying around two of those mystical imperial arms I've heard so much about."

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell us what you did with those", Leone casually requested.

"They're safely locked away in the governor's mansion. After some analysis, they'll definitely be a useful asset to the Reispan army"

Mein glared directly at the ambassador. "So what exactly did you come down here for?"

To which the ambassador responded. "I could probably have you both tortured and interrogated, but I have too many other things to occupy my time. So instead, I had decided to come down here and have you both executed here and now."

At the mention of this, both of the guards cocked their rifles and aimed them squarely at Leone and Mein.

"But that was before I knew just how . . . appetizing the two of you were", said the ambassador, licking her lips.

Mein raised one of her eyebrows, unsure of what was going on. "Say what?"

"So I've decided to give you two an ultimatum. Either I execute you two here and now . . . or, you can agree to become my slaves."

Mein growled. "As if we would . . ."

But Leone cut her off, elbowing her in the side. "I was getting tired of being an assassin anyway. The pay is crap and the job security is deplorable."

"I had a feeling you would see reason", the ambassador replied while turning to the guards. "Let them out of the cell, but keep your weapons trained on them at all times. They did come here to assassinate me after all."

As the guards let Leone and Mein out of their cell, the ambassador motioned for them to follow her. "Now that that's out of the way, proper etiquette demands that we properly introduce ourselves. My name is Alicia Eduarda. I am Reispan's finest ambassador and trade negotiator. And you are?"

"I'm Leone and I'm the Grand Empire's finest massage therapist!", the feral assassin grinned, somewhat enjoying herself.

Alicia smirked amorously. "Massage therapist? That's good to know."

Night Raid's genius sniper simply sighed. "Yeah . . . I'm Mein"

To which the ambassador stopped and took a few moments to run her fingers through the younger woman's hair and even smell it. "My my my, you're not purely of the Grand Empire are you? Such radiant pink hair and pinks eyes. You're a Reispanian girl, aren't you?"

This only seemed to irk the genius sniper's nerves, even causing her to clench her teeth.

A response which greatly amused the ambassador. "And such fight in you too. I think I'll enjoy you the most", she said with a wink. "Needless to say, let us head back to the governor's mansion."

And so they all proceeded to exit the jail house, the ambassador walking in front, Leone and Mein walking behind her while still handcuffed and the two guards walking behind them with their weapons pointed at their backs.

As they walked out, the two Night Raid members got a closer view of the town. The first thing they noticed was several long lines of people waiting outside of what appeared to be supply buildings. Upon closer examination, the person at the front of one line was given a loaf of bread by a supplier. The person at the front of another line was given a flu shot of some sort.

As they continued walking, Alicia noticed that these lines had caught her two slaves' attention. "As you can see, Reispan makes the welfare of its people its chief priority."

"This is all provided by the Reispan government?", Mein asked.

"Indeed. We provide our people food, shelter and healthcare. Your Grand Empire is plagued with corrupt nobility sucking away everything from the poor, but here in Reispan, everyone is equal. Everyone has the same rights and privileges. It is what some would call an idyllic society."

They walked further into town, Mein quickly noticing a conversation between a mother and child on the nearest street corner.

"Mother, I'm hungry", said the child.

To which the mother responded, whispering. "Please, don't speak so loudly. You know what will happen. We've already consumed this week's rations. Please, just hold together a little longer."

Something else caught Leone's attention. The buildings looked run down, many cracked windows, worn doors and a great deal of termite infested wood.

The group continued traversing the town until they made their way to a large and pristine multi-story building of the most exquisite décor. The governor's mansion no doubt. Contrary to the buildings throughout the rest of the town, this one was in excellent condition. What's more, it had its own garden out front and a set of horse stables to the side. Even more atmospheric was that the mansion sat directly across the town's docks which were overlooking the lake. Truly an impressive piece of scenery.

With Alicia still walking in front, Leone and Meine entered the mansion, awed at its interior. To the left were several musicians each donned in formal wear, a pianist and a few violinists playing classical music. To the right was a painter currently in the process of completing a wall sized portrait of the ambassador.

They all made their way upstairs until finally entering what appeared to be grand master bedroom. At one part of the room sat a kingsized bed with red velvet sheets of the finest quality. At another side of the room was a black leather couch suitable for three people to sit in. The ambassador casually took a seat. "Well, what do you think of my mansion?"

"Your mansion?", Mein asked probingly. "You called this the govenor's mansion."

"Just a formality here in Reispan", the ambassador responded. "Here in Reispan, we have governor's mansions throughout most of our towns and cities. It's where high ranked officials can stay when they visit."

:epme raised her handcuffed hands. "That's all well and great, but could you remove these? Walking around with them is a real pain."

Alicia reached for the end table next to the couch she was sitting at, pulling out two black spiked collars and a remote control. She walked up to her two new slaves and fitted the collars around their necks. She then pulled a key out of one of her pockets, uncuffing both of the young women. Afterwards, she looked upon the two guards in the room, motioning them to leave.

Mein looked puzzle. "For someone who we were just trying to assassinate, you sure do have a lot of faith in us. What's stopping us from finishing the job right now?"

To which the ambassador responded while clicking the button on her remote control. "This"

Just then, a wave of electricity surged throughout the bodies of both Night Raid members, causing them both to the drop to the floor as they gritted their teeth in pain.

"You two are my slaves now and slaves shall do as they are told", Alicia chimed before glancing towards the door to a small adjoining room nearby. "Now, the first thing I want you to do is to go into that bathroom there. There are a few outfits lying on the counter. Each of you will change into one of those outfits on the double. And don't think about trying anything funny. Should you not return within 60 seconds, I will be hitting this button again at a much higher voltage."

Mein and Leone did just as she said, entering the nearby bathroom with great haste. With 5 seconds to spare, they made their way back into the ambassador's bathroom, only now donned in outfits that were . . . uncanny to say the least. Leone was now wearing a thin blue two piece bikini with the bra portion solely covering her nipples. The genius sniper, on the other hand was wearing a thin red two piece bikini with assless panties.

"Oh my", Alicia blushed, seductively sliding a hand across Leone's chest and doing the same across Mein's bare behind afterwards. "Remarkable craftsmanship."

As Mein felt this middle aged deviant molest her in such a fashion, she grinded her teeth to the full extent of which her molars could bare and tightly clenched her hands as well, visibly undignified by the current situation. Oddly enough,Leone's reaction was much different; she appeared to be amused.

At that moment, a few guards carried a large human sized cage into the room, the ambassador motioning them to set it right next to her bed before turning her attention back to her two slaves. "The both of you will stay here while I attend to some important business. I'll return in a few minutes, mmkay", she said a wink and an air kiss.

With the ambassador and her guards gone, Leone and Mein were locked behind bars both at their lonesome.

Leone started giggling before playfully slapping her companion on her glutes.

To which Mein blushed and growled. "Hey!"

But Leone simply continued to giggle. "She's may be an evil bitch, but she's right about you having a nice ass."

The talented sniper muttered expletives while continuing to blush and growl, but stopped upon noticing Leone's sudden seriousness. "What is it?"

"She locked our imperial arms some place in this mansion. Even if we didn't have these collars on, there are too many guards for us to get out of here and complete the mission without them. We've gotta get them back before she sends them off to the Reispan army."

"Easier said than done", Mein sighed. "I told you we would've better off had you let me snipe her."

"It's not like we knew for sure that she would be in this town. That was just a rumor, remember?", Leone shrugged. "But that's all water in the bridge. We need to focus on the problem in front of us."

"And what do you have in mind?"

To which the feral assassin smirked mischievously. "Oh . . . I have a few ideas."

* * *

 **[ _. . . The fruits of a revolution . . ._ ]**

* * *

Just as the sun went down and moon rose up, two of the Jaegars entered the town of Sin Esperanza. Whereas Run, Kurome and Seryu had ventured off into Ali Jinnah, Bols and Wave arrived in this frail city in a valley. Just as they entered the city, they were approached by several armed guards.

"State your business", one of the guards said, looking in the two men's direction.

"We're the Jaegar's and we're here on behalf of the Grand Empire", Wave responded. "We heard a rumor that your ambassador would be visiting this town before participating in the upcoming trade negotiations in the Reispan Capital. We suspect a group of assassins known as Night Raid might try to target her and wish to see to it that they fail."

"The ambassador has ordered us not to permit any guests to see her tonight. You may arrange an audience with her tomorrow."

Bols nodded. "I see. Then is there an inn we can rest at for the night?"

"There is", one of the guards said, pointing in one direction. "Just keep walking straight ahead and you'll find an inn in the center of town."

Both Wave and Bols bowed their heads graciously before treading further into town. At the very moment the guards were out of sight, a young girl in raggedy clothes ran up to them, her attention focused on Wave. "Please sir, you're a foreigner. Foreigners are supposed to be rich. Could you please spare me several gold pieces? Our family is starving and we don't have enough for any additional rations and . . ."

Wave reached into one of his pockets, rummaging through it for gold pieces. "Easy now little girl. I'd be happy to help you." He pulled out 10 gold pieces, preparing to place them in the girl's hands.

But before he could, several guards could be seen walking by on patrol. At the sight of this, the girl quickly ran off in the opposite direction. Wave shouted out. "Hey, don't you want some money?"

Noticing this, the guards quickly confronted the gracious Jaegar. "Hey! Stop what you're doing this instant!"

As they surrounded him, Wave looked perplexed. "I'm sorry. Did I do something wrong?"

"If we catch you doing that again, you'll be spending the rest of your days in the slammer! Is that clear, punk?"

"What are you talking about", he responded. "All I was doing was-"

But Bols interrupted him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We apologize. We're new here and didn't know about your laws. We won't besmirch them again.

"You'd better not!", one of the guards snarled before they each walked away and resumed patrol.

"Why'd you stop me?", Wave asked his comrade.

To which Bols responded. "This country . . . it doesn't appear to be like ours. Lets leave it at that for now and head to the inn."

And so the two continued walking until they reached the inn the guards had mentioned. As they looked at this establishment's exterior, neither of them were impressed, noting that it was about as raggedy as the clothes on the little girl they had just encountered. Still, neither of them being snobs, it wasn't an issue that would prevent them from occupying this place for the night.

They headed inside, but the interior was just as run down as the exterior, holes in the walls, cracks in the doors and mice and roaches boldly running across the floor with impunity. At the side of the entrance was an elderly man with a bald head and a thick white mustache sitting at the front desk, snoozing.

Bols rung the bell on said desk, immediately waking this elderly man up, his eyes instantly fixated on both Jaegars. "Alejandro Enrique at your service. The mayor of Sin Esperanza and the owner of its finest Inn. How can I help you?"

Wave jumped back in shock. "You're the mayor?! What's the mayor doing in a place like this?"

The elderly man scratched his head for a moment. "¿qué quieres decir con eso?"

To which Wave raised an eyebrow. "Uh . . . what?"

Alejandro pondered for a few moments before laughing out loud. "Oh, you mean why is it that the mayor is staying in an inn?"

"Sure . . . I guess that's what I'm getting at."

"It's because I have been assigned to stay here and am not allowed to stay anywhere else."

Wave still appeared to be confused. "But you're the mayor. Back in my hometown, the town isn't exactly as well off as we'd like it to be, but our mayor probably has the nicest place in the town. It's his reward for taking on the task of serving the people and because the weight of all the responsibility he has assumed."

"Your home town sounds lovely, if not ideal", Alejandro nodded. "But that's not quite how things work here in Reispan. The people here elected me mayor, but the election itself was simply for show. The mayor's only power is to make requests for rations each month. Beyond that, the government handles everything else. Even the guards here, they don't answer to me."

"Those guards stopped me from giving a beggar some money earlier. Threatened to lock me up if I did it again. What's the deal with that?"

Alejandro sighed and shook his head in dismay. "Here in Reispan, private charity is illegal and punishable by imprisonment."

Wave couldn't believe what he had just heard. "WHAT?! That's ridiculous! Why would they impose such a law?"

"The government's rational is that providing for its people is its job as opposed to the job of the citizens. Instead, anyone who wants to provide charity should give to the government so that it may better do its job."

"That's outrageous!"

"But it is the way it is. Reispan wasn't always like this. When I was your age, our greatest problem was the corrupt nobility. We eventually started a revolution. A cause I didn't hesitate to join. I remember those days so well. How proud I was to believe I was making a difference. Hmmph." The last part of that sentence was etched with cynicism.

"So how did things turn out like this?"

"We won the revolution. And the first thing the leaders of the revolution decided to do was to abolish nobility and make everyone equal as well as form a government whose responsibility was helping the people rather than helping itself. Problem is that some people have a very different idea of what it means to be equal as well as what it means to help the people. It is because of that that we effectively ended up simply trading the burdens we had with a set of new ones."

"I can see where you're coming from", Wave nodded. "In our country, there's currently a revolution underway as well. But as you're suggesting, revolutions are misguided and not the way to solve things."

Hearing this, however, simply made the elderly man bellow with laughter. "Is that what you think I'm saying? Oh heavens no. Our revolution wasn't misguided in itself. Our problem was that we never seriously sat down and considered the ramifications of it. Rebuilding a country . . . pursuing an ideal. These are courses of action that need to be thoroughly debated at every level. Actions which should only be pursued if considered realistically. We didn't do this. We were naïve. We simply thought it'd be as easy as getting rid of the corrupt nobles that oppressed us and thus paid the price for it with what you see not just in Sin Esperanza, but in towns and cities throughout the country."

Wave shook his head. "With all due respect, you're mistaken. You didn't need to have a revolution. I'm sure that had you worked from within the system, maybe you could have found a solution that could have avoided all of this."

To which the elderly man sighed. "At this point, we'll never know. But don't let me bore you with tales of the old days. The two of you are here for a room, yes?"

"Indeed. We would like to stay here for the night if you'd have us", Wave replied, bowing his head politely.

"Hmm . . . that'll be 1000 gold pieces."

"WHAT?!"

"Just kidding", Alejandro chuckled. "Usually, I'm required to charge that for inn usage, but it's been some time since I've had guests, so I'll let you stay free of charge."

Wave once again bowed his head. "You're very generous. Thank you."

With that, the two Jaegar members entered their room. There were two worn down beds present and the floors were cracked. Nonetheless, they both agreed that it far surpassed sleeping outside.

* * *

 **[ _. . . It all starts with a massage . . ._ ]**

* * *

Back at the governor's estate, Leone and Mein, still dressed in their demeaning outfits, had been having dinner with the ambassador. All three sat at a grand estate table, Leone and Mein sitting to the left and right of Alicia respectively.

Much to the genius sniper's irritation, the ambassador kept stroking and running her fingers up and down her back while listening to Leone finish what appeared to be an amusing tale. "And so then I told the thief 'Not your pants, damnit! The gun!"

The ambassador pounded the table with her free hand as she laughed. "You're killing me here!"

Leone laughed heartily while pouring more wine into her captor's cup. "That's the plan! Have some more!"

Alicia, with no grace or etiquette, poured the entire cup down her throat in one swooping fashion.

Seeing this gave the feral assassin some ideas. She leaned closely to the ambassador's side, blowing and whispering in her ear even. "Say, you seem a little tense. Why don't we head back to your room, so I can release some of that extra tension with one of my world class massages?"

To which Alicia blushed her cheeks before showing a flirtatious smile. "Yes, I do think some released tension would do me a world of good."

And so all three women returned to the master bedroom they had occupied earlier. As they got in the room, Leone sat on the bed and turned her attention to her pink haired companion. "Why don't you make yourself useful and help the ambassador get a little more comfortable?"

In keeping with her demeanor throughout the much of the day, Mein continued to swear under her breath while grinding her teeth. She pulled away Alicia's robe, helping her out of clothes until she was wearing nothing more than her undergarments.

Leone then took the opportunity to pull the ambassador to the bed. "Lay on your stomach and I'll do the rest." She climbed onto the middle aged woman's back and began sensually rubbing her shoulders.

Alicia let out a pleasant sigh. "That's nice."

For several moments, Mein watched with repulsion as her companion worked her hands all around the ambassador's scantily clad body. She shuddered to think where this massage was going, much less what part she herself would have to contribute. Fortunately for her, however, a delightful sound began filling the room. Snoring. She looked upon Alicia, immediately realizing that she was already well asleep. At this time, Leone got off the bed, opting to instead cover the ambassador with a blanket.

Mein widened her eyes at the sight of this. "How did you do that?"

Leone responded with a knowing wink. "Easy as pie. When you've given as many massages as I have, with some focus in the right places, you can put just about anybody to sleep, especially if they've already been drinking!"

"Good. I've been waiting for an opportunity like this all day", Mein responded, sporting a devilish grin. "Lets snap her neck and get out of here!"

In an unusual display of collectedness, Leone shook her head. "Not yet."

"What? But this is our perfect chance!"

"No, we still need to get our imperial arms back. If we can't find them after looking around, we can come back here and torture the information out of her."

"But what if she wakes up before we get back?"

To which Leone boastfully smirked. "Trust me. She won't."

With that, they swiftly exited the room, peeling the door open to see whether any guards were nearby before slipping out. Most of the mansion's servant's had already retired for the night and the hallways were dimly lit with candlelight, making patrolling guards the only issue as far as reconnaissance was concerned. They had both fortunately performed enough prior covert operations to know how to consistently avoid detection, always making sure to stay within the shadows.

Mein and Leone searched the guest bedrooms, but found nothing. They scanned the kitchen and the dining room, but detected nothing out of the ordinary. They looked around the main hall, but didn't see anything concealed. They finally stumbled across the only room that was locked.

"Jackpot!", said Leone, pumping her right fist.

Mein crossed her arms. "How do we get in?"

Leone removed a hairpin stowed away in her hair and began fidgeting with the door knob. "As if you need to ask."

"And here I thought you stole some of the ambassador's hairpins for fashion purposes."

"Duh. Hairpins have many uses. For example, when we get back home, I'd be happy to give you a makeover. A few hairpins here and there, and that nice ass of yours won't be the only thing that distracts men from your flat chest."

"Screw you!"

"Oh c'mon, Mein", Leone giggled as she got the door open. "You know why you picked that outfit instead of the one I'm wearing."

"Shut the hell up!"

As the two Night Raid members entered the locked room, the noticed that it was a study room of some sort. There was a litany of books lined up in shelves. In the center of the room, there was an encased world map on an oak table. And on the side of the room opposite to the entrance, there was a study desk with an ink quill and some official documents sitting on it.

Both women approached the study desk, inspecting the litany of papers scattered on its surface. Mein grabbed one of the candles hoisted on the wall and held it over the desk as Leone looked through documents scattered on it. One of the documents contained a detailed diagram of the very dam that was overlooking the town with red ink marks placed on various points. Another document appeared to be a signed order from a very high ranked member of the Reispan government titled 'Operation Clean State.' However, neither of these documents appeared to address where the two confiscated imperial arms were being kept.

"No choice", said Leone, shrugging her shoulders. "Looks like we'll have to beat the information out of the ambassador."

But Mein smirked. "You say that like it's a bad thing"

"I like a fight as much as the next gal, but there are too many guards here to fight without our imperial arms. Creating a scene is a bad idea."

"Maybe we can take her hostage. Force her to show us where our weapons are while using her as a human shield."

"Not like we have any other option at this point. Lets go."

And so they exited the study room, Leone having made sure that the door was relocked upon slipping out. They skirted their way past guards on patrol and made it back into Alicia's master bedroom without incident. But just as they closed the doors behind them, they came face to face with an elderly maid.

The maid looked upon them, eyes bulged and her mouth about to open. Sure to release screams that would awake the ambassador as well as alert every single person inside the mansion. Leone instantly placed her hand over the maid's, muffling her voice to great effect, Alongside Mein, they walked into the adjoining bathroom and closed the door behind them.

Mein looked into the maid's eyes. "We're not here to hurt you. Just cooperate with us and I promise you nothing will happen. Agreed?"

The maid calmed herself down and nodded her head, prompting Leone to release her. "You two are ambassador Eduarda's personal servants. What are you two doing out of your cages without her supervision?"

"That's a good question", Leone smirked, amused at the situation. "But not as good of a question as to what the cleaning lady is doing in the ambassador's bedroom in the middle of the night without any cleaning supplies on hand."

A sense of panic could be seen throughout the elderly woman's eyes.

This only made Leone chuckle to herself. "Thought so. You figured that you could steal some valuables while the ambassador was asleep. You must've noticed how drunk she had been getting at dinner earlier and how neither of us were present in our cage, thus figured you might be able to pull a fast one."

"Please. Don't tell anyone. I have grandchildren to feed. I only wanted to buy additional rations. You have to believe me."

"I believe you", Leone replied. "Just get out of here, okay?"

Hearing this, the maid was overjoyed. "Oh thank you. Thank you. Bless you for your kindness."

The maid prepared to exit the bathroom, but not before stopping dead in her tracks and gazing at Mein for a few moments.

"What?", the genius sniped asked, a hint of irritation in her voice. Having already been subjected to the ambassador's constant advances throughout the day, she was dreading the thought of this old lady coming onto her as well.

"You're not a foreigner, are you? You're Reispanian. That hair and those eyes, I'd recognize it anywhere. Only someone with Reispanian blood could have them."

Mein appeared to grow even more irritated to a sharp and deeply serious degree. "You've got the wrong, idea. I wasn't born here in Reispan. I was born on the western borders of the Grand Empire. Besides, only my mother was Reispanian. My father was born in the empire."

The maid smiled with sincerity in her eyes. "I see. Your mother and father must be very proud to see that their daughter has turned into a such a fine beautiful woman."

"How could they be proud? My parents are dead. They died just after fleeing this damn country! And you don't have to tell me about my pink hair and pink eyes. I spent most of my life being ridiculed for it!"

Hearing this caused the old woman to let out a heavy sigh"Child . . . I'm sorry. I didn't know you went through so much. I'm sorry you had to endure so much because of your blood. I know how things look here. I know what you must think of us. But please, don't go hating your heritage just because of the acts of some.

Mein narrowed her eyes for a moment before sighing as well. "Yeah whatever. Just go already."

The elderly maid gazed at her fellow Reispanian for a few more moments before walking away and exiting the master bedroom entirely.

Leone looked at her companion with a slight hint of concern in her eyes. "Something you want to talk about?"

But Mein simply brushed it off while walking out the bathroom. "No."

Leone followed her, heading back into the bedroom area with the sleeping ambassador in her sights. They had yet to find their imperial arms, so torture was there only option. However, just as they approached the sleeping Alicia, there were several knocks on the bedroom door. The two Night Raid members looked to each other with panic in their eyes and immediately ran back into their cage, closing it behind them. They then lied down, pretending to be asleep.

After a few additional knocks, the bedroom door opened, three guards entering the room. "Ambassador Eduarda!"

To which the middle aged woman sharply opened her eyes and sat up, quickly covering herself with the bed sheets to hide her indecent state. "How dare you barge into my bedroom in the middle of the night without permission?! If this isn't an important matter, I will have you hung!"

"Ambassador!", a guard responded, handing Alicia a sealed letter after giving her a firm salute. "This is straight from the Grand Chancellor himself."

Wasting no time, Alicia opened the letter and read its contents via candlelight. "I see. So he wants us to commence with operation Clean Slate as soon as possible? Very well. Anything else?"

"Yes your excellency, there's one additional matter. Two representatives from the Grand Empire have arrived and are currently residing at the Inn. They call themselves 'Jaegars', ma'am, and they'd like to arrange an audience with you. They say they're here for some assassins"

The ambassador rubbed her chin. "Jaegers and assassins, eh? Interesting. Very well, I'll hear from them in the morning. You're all dismissed."

And thus the three guards exited the room just as promptly as they had entered. Alicia turned her attention to Mein and Leone. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the two in their motionless state. She had wandered when they had gotten back into their cage and how she had gotten back into her bed, but swiftly brushed away such thoughts upon remembering how much she drank at dinner. Then, with a simple sight, she went back to sleep.

Leone peaked towards the direction of the bed to make sure the ambassador was laying down and asleep before whispering in Mein's ear. "That was a little too close."

Mein whispered in return. "Yeah, no kidding. So what's the plan?"

"The damn door locked as soon as we got back in, so torturing the ambassador for info is out of the question. Not to mention the Jaegars are here, making our situation all kinds of screwed. We absolutely have to get our weapons back if we're gonna stand a chance against them."

* * *

 **[. . . _For whom the bell tolls_ . . .]**

* * *

Back at the inn in the center of the town, Wave found himself waking up in the middle of the night, the sound of someone humming the tune of a rather pleasant melody. The Jaegar sat up in his bed, quickly realizing who was humming this tune. "Bols, it's pretty late you know."

The masked muscular man had been sitting up, gazing at a picture of his daughter. It took him a few seconds to register the fact that Wave had just said something. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

Wave smiled, having grown very accustomed to Bols' utmost sense of politeness. "No big deal. Why are you still up by the way? You'll need to be in tip top shape should we face Night Raid tomorrow."

"It's strange. I keep hearing a bell."

"Huh. I don't hear anything."

"Really? How odd."

"So what's that you're humming?"

"It's a song my daughter has been practicing for her upcoming piano recital."

"A piano recital?", Wave said, surprised at yet another example of his comrade having a rather mundane personal life.

"Yes. It's a lovely song. I think she'll do well."

Wave's eyes narrowed. "Since we're both awake, you mind if ask you something?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"You've done a lot of things. Killed a lot of people . . . much more than I have. You've personally had to raze entire villages. All of it being for the greater good, but still . . . you remain a good man. Inspiring even. In my time in the Capital, I've seen fellow soldiers who are corrupt to the core, but you've been able to do your job and still remain uncorrupted. How?"

"Good? Inspiring? Uncorrupted? Those are the last words you could use to describe a man like me. I've done all the things I've done so that I would be able to take care of my wife and daughter, but does it really matter? How many mothers and daughters have I taken from other men simply trying to support their families?"

"You're wrong. I've seen pure evil even within our own ranks. You're not like that. You still have the heart of caring decent man."

"Do you think that is enough?"

Wave looked at his friend with confusion. "Enough for what?"

"Enough to pay the price for every life I've taken away? I don't know if that's the case, but if I've learned anything in this world, it's that we always reap what we sow. I can only hope that what I've reaped won't one day come back to haunt my family."

Hearing this gave Wave some; he pondered for a few moments, reflecting on his masked companion's self-derisive thoughts. An idea then occurred to him. "That won't happen."

"What?"

A look of focus and determination appeared in his eyes. "You have my word, as long as I live, I won't let anything happen to your wife and daughter!"

Beneath his mask was the look of a man that was touched by such kind words. He didn't know what to say. He was used to being distrusted due to his foreboding appearance and having no one to confide in besides his wife. But Wave . . . he was a different sort of fellow.

Wave, detecting the silence that followed his proclamation, starting cringing out of embarrassment. "Damnit. I said something lame again, didn't I?"

To which Bols shook his head. "No no. I'm grateful for what you said. Thank you."

The younger Jaegar member smiled upon hearing these words. "So . . . is it okay if Kurome and I attend your daughter's recital?"

"I don't see why not. But why just you and Kurome? What about Run, Seryu, and Esdeath?"

Wave appeared to be flustered. "Uh . . . yeah, they should come too!"

* * *

 **[. . . _The end of Sin Esperanza_ . . .]**

* * *

The night eventually came to an end, followed by dawn. Mein and Leone had been well asleep, reasoning that they'd need to be at full strength should they encounter the Jaegars.

Their slumber, however, quickly came to an end as the ambassador approached their cage and yelled "You two, wake up!"

To which the two Night Raid members instantly awoke, cautious as ever while in the presence of their self-proclaimed master.

Alicia opened their cage and directed them towards the bathroom. "It's a real shame, but I'm going to need you both to put back on the clothes you had been wearing yesterday. You once again have 60 seconds to change. Don't even think about trying anything funny."

And so they did, spurting into the bathroom and putting back on their normal attire, Mein being very relieved to be out of what she considered to be a degrading outfit. They came out the bathroom just in time, Leone asking the ambassador "What's the occasion?" upon walking out.

"You'll both need to be dressed appropriately when you appear before the Grand Chancellor."

Leone looked at the ambassador somewhat puzzled. "Oh yeah? And what does Reispan's grand chancellor want with us?"

"The Grand Chancellor would like to see for himself the two criminals who committed the heinous act of killing every single man, woman and child here in Sin Esperanza."

Both of the Night Raid assassins looked upon Alicia with shock and confusion. Mein quickly spoke up. "What . . . did you just say?"

Alicia leaned in close to the genius sniper, yet again stroking her long pink hair. "It's such a shame too. I really planned on having more fun with you two . . . especially you. But alas, duty comes first. I can't have monsters like you wondering freely throughout our fair country. The Grand Chancellor will see you both before your public execution."

Leone snarled, instantly losing her composure. "What did you do to the people of this town?!"

Alicia simply laughed, amused by the anger her words appeared to be producing. "Nothing. But the water being contained by the dam? That'll surely wipe out this entire town in a single stroke and I will see to it that you are both hung for sabotaging the dam in an effort to kill so many innocent people."

"Cut the crap!", Mein snarled, outwardly infuriated at this point. "Why would you do this to your own people? Is this how Reispan makes the welfare of its people its chief priority?"

But Alicia merely continued to laugh. "You're such a little fool. You just don't get it, do you? The people are Reispan's chief priority. It's because of this that this town needs to be destroyed. The maintenance required to keep this dam in working condition and the rations we regularly send out here is a great burden on our resources. Resources which would be much better used elsewhere. Imagine all the additional rations other towns will be able to get when we've eliminated this one. In the end, more people will benefit at the cost of the deaths of some. It's only logic."

Logic which Mein didn't buy for a single instant. "You don't give a damn about the people! It's why you leave the people suffering on the streets while you enjoy the luxury of eating and sleeping in this godforsaken mansion! You talk about equality, but you're no better than the damn nobles!"

Alicia smirked, not fazed by her fellow Reispanian's words. "I am nothing like the nobles. My way leads to peace and prosperity. If you can't see this, that's your own problem. Not that it matters as the opinions of the dead are worthless. Especially dead criminals."

From one of her pockets, the ambassador removed the remote control to the shock collars on Leone and Mein. She audaciously held it out in front of the two assassins with her thumb hovered over the shock button. "Now come. We should begin heading to the Capital at great haste.

And so the two night raid members followed Alicia, reluctantly at that. As they exited the bedroom and made their way downstairs, they saw over 20 armed guards present next to the mansion's front door. One of the guards was standing next to the elderly maid Mein and Leone had encountered on the previous night, the barrel of his rifle trained squarely on the maid's head.

Leone grew furious at the sight of this and turned to the ambassador. "What are you doing?!"

The ambassador turned to two of the nearby guards and simply nodded her head. Responding accordingly, the guards grabbed both Mein and Leone and covered their mouths.

Alicia then turned her attention to the elderly maid who was at gunpoint. "This one was found rummaging through the halls last night well past her curfew. Usually, I would let this sort of thing go with maybe three or four months of manual labor, but I also discovered that someone broke into the study last night. The files on the desk in no way resembled the formation I had left them in yesterday afternoon. This woman swears she had nothing to do with it and I am more or less inclined to believe her. Thus, I've decided the perfect way to settle this matter. Should she tell me right now who broke into the study, she'll be absolved of her crime and I will personally execute the real culprits myself. Should she lie or refuse to answer, she will die here and now."

Mein and Leone desperately tried to speak, to confirm that they were the ones who broke into the study. They understood full well that the ambassador was playing a sick game and had no intention of executing them there in the governor's mansion. Even if they had not been set to be executed regardless, neither of them could bare sacrificing an innocent life for their own cause. Leone herself attempted to knock away the guard holding her, but without her imperial arm, she merely had the strength of a normal young woman.

But the elderly maid finally spoke up nonetheless. "You want to know who broke into your study, correct?"

"That's correct", Alicia responded. "Just tell me who did it and you'll be safe and sound."

The maid looked towards Mein and Leone as they struggled and then looked back to the ambassador eye to eye. With a heartwarming smile, she said "I did it. I broke into your study."

Judging by the look on the ambassador's face, this was not the sort of answered she expected, much less wanted. She released a frustrated sigh, only to then snap her fingers. Bang. At the very next moment, the maid was lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. The bullet pierced right through her brain, making it an instant death.

The ambassador then shook her head in dismay. "Such a fool. To my understanding, she had grandchildren to take care of. Why should she throw away her life to save two people she knows nothing about is anyone's guess. But at very least, some good comes out of it. Now, our society is one fraction less foolish."

All of the sudden, there was a look of blood boiling hate in Mein's eyes as she witnessed this depraved scene play out. Alicia took note of this. "You're so adorable. Why couldn't the Grand Chancellor have delayed his order for a just few more days? How I would have enjoyed breaking that spirit of yours."

Wishing to further flaunt her control of the situation, Alicia then turned her attention to the large picture of herself hung up on the wall. "By the way, you two ought to really read a lot more mystery novels. Maybe if you were a little more well-read, you'd know that the valuables are usually kept behind the finest looking painting in the house."

A few of the guards then pulled the portrait down and another guard opened a safe behind it, only to pull out the two imperial arms that had been stored within it: Lionelle and Pumpkin. Seeing the ambassador's intent, said guard then walked towards the her with the two items in his hands.

Alicia shifted her gaze back to the two Night Raid assassins. "I had intended to do some analysis and learn firsthand how these imperials arms function, but with representatives from the Grand Empire here, I wonder if I should instead try using them as bargaining power in our upcoming negotiations. What do you think?"

Leone mumbled something, but no one was quite able to make out what she was saying while there was a hand covering her mouth. "Let her speak", said the ambassador.

As the guard pried his hand away from Leone's mouth, she said "What do I think? I think you've just made a big mistake."

At the instant these words came out of her mouth, she bit the hand of the guard that was holding her, causing him to cry out in pain and release her from his grasp. Seizing the opportunity before her, she then leaped forwards, grabbing her imperial arm out of the hands of the guard that had been holding it.

However, at this very moment, the guards surrounding her opened fire, pumping her body full of lead. Naturally, the feral assassin fell face down to the floor, blood flowing out of her and she lied there motionless.

Alicia sighed at the sight of this. "One disappointment after the other. What did she think was going to happen when she tried something so reckless?"

Though suddenly, a stream of laughter could be heard. Upon closer inspection, it was coming from what was thought to be a dead assassin. Only now . . . "I'll tell you what I think is going to happen. I think I'm going to get up and rip every one of you apart, limb from limb, right down to your entrails. For what you just did, not even one person in this mansion here in going to be on the receiving end of mercy in any form."

A look of fear and anguish overcame the ambassador. She looked around the room, wondering why the guards were just standing still, observing the sight before them. "Shoot the body! Shoot it now!"

Hearing her orders, they all fired in unison, but it was too late. For Leone had already moved out of the way, the only thing remaining on the floor being the electric collar Alica had attached to her the other day. What's more, the guard who had been holding Pumpkin was now missing both of his arms, blood pouring out of where they used to be.

Leone swiftly grabbed Mein, kicked down the mansion's front door and escaped into the front yard. She turned to her comrade, ripped off her electric collar and handed her her prized weapon. "Time to paint the town red with these bastards."

All of the guards that had been in the mansion ran outside to confront the two assassins, many of them being mowed down like fodder either by headshots from Mein or lethal body blows from Leone.

More guards appeared, coming from within the town. As the two Night Raid assassins were finishing off the remaining guards from the mansion, they started firing from behind. Of course, Mein simply chuckled at this develop. "Dumbasses."

Before they could fire another shot, she turned around and fired a large blast out from her Pumpkin, almost instantly incinerating the group in one fell swoop. No doubt a result of the pinch they had placed her in by attacking from behind.

It was amazing how much of a difference having their imperial arms had made. There were probably around 60 total town guards, but the two assassins had successfully killed most of them in mere minutes. The ambassador certainly didn't see any point in sticking around, instead opting to make a run for it.

Alicia fled to the nearby docks, hoping to get on one of the available sailboats in an effort to get to safety. She had just about untied the closest boat from one of the dock's post when she heard a gunshot go off and a sharp burning pain in her leg simultaneously. The ambassador grabbed onto the post, unable to keep her footing otherwise. She turned her head and noticed a furious Mein pacing towards her with her imperial arm in hand. "Spare me now and I can make it worth your while. All it takes is one recommendation from me and you can have just about anything you want in this country"

Of course, Meind didn't say anything. Even if such an offer could ever interest her, her rage and her desire to see this vile woman suffer dominated her thoughts. Thus, she instead simply fired another shot from her Pumpkin, this time flying right through the ambassador's left arm. All the while still ominously walking towards her.

Despite the sheer pain Alicia had to be in, she continued to talk. "High spirited to the bitter end, eh?"

But remained continued not to speak, firing another shot instead, this one piercing the ambassador's other leg.

Ever still, the mortally wounded ambassador was insistent on talking. "Careful now. If you let hubris cloud your judgment like it clouded mine, you're sure to make a grievous mistake."

The genius sniper was unfettered; she continued to draw near until she stood face to face with Alicia, her Imperial pointed at her fellow Respanian's head point blank. The rage and hatred that overwhelmed her eyes was unlike any that had ever been seen from her before. Her index firmly was firmly hovered over Pumpkin's trigger.

But just as the trigger was about to pulled, a young man clad in familiar black and blue armor could be seen descending in the air directly above the talented sniper. "Grand Fall!"

Leone, seemingly coming out of nowhere tackled her fellow Night Raid member simultaneously, knocking her out of the way of what surely would've been a devastating life-ending attack. Life ending indeed since said attack blew through a thick chunk of the dock wood she had been standing on.

Mein was quick to get up off the ground and regain her footing. Standing right next to the wounded ambassador was the armored man who had nearly killed her just now and a masked man in possession of a flamethrower. "I recognize these guys from Tatsumi's description of the Jaegars. The one on the left is Wave. He uses Grand Chariot. The one on the right is Bols. He uses Rubicante. Both of them are at least as strong as us."

Leone nodded her head. "That sounds about right. I'll take Wave. You take Bols."

Wave gazed carefully upon his targets. "It looks like we got here in the nick of time. Just sit back, Ambassador Eduarda. We'll get you some medical attention just as soon as we're done here."

Alicia smirked with the utmost satisfaction at her serendipity. "Yes, these assassins have already slain so many of our guards who did everything they could protect the people. Please, you must avenge them."

To which Wave clenched his fist. "We will."

Mein suddenly fired several shots at Bols, but none of them did her any good, for the flamewielding Jaegar member concurrently used Rubicante to fire out a burst of flame, completely nullifying her shots. What's more, Bols kept his finger on the trigger, maintaining a constant wall of flame in front of him.

The genius sniper attempted to thwart this tactic by running to Bols' side and firing from there, only to be shocked as he merely turned towards her direction and continued to maintain his flame wall. " _He's not giving me any openings, nor is he making the effort to put me in a pinch. It's almost as if he's . . . oh shit! He's stalling! Waiting for his partner to beat Leone!"_

Meanwhile, Leone instantly found Wave's foot buried in her face, the result of a speedy flying sidekick. A blow which sent the feral assassin tumbling backward several yards before falling on her back.

The Grand Chariot wielder nonchalantly walked towards his opponent. An honorable warrior through and through as the thought of attacking someone on their back didn't even cross his mind. His sole concern was stopping this villain from causing any more harm to innocent people.

Leone quickly regained her footing; she leapt right back onto her feet with no trouble whatsoever. She popped and cracked her neck a bit before spitting out a loose tooth. She then looked towards her adversary, smirking confidently. "Not too shabby. Had you moved that fast earlier, I wouldn't have been able to get to Mein in the nick of time."

"Unlike you assassins, we Jaegars actually prioritize the lives of innocent people. Had I gone full force back there, Ambassador Eduarda would've died as well."

"Innocent people? Do you even know what the ambassador was trying to do prior to you getting here?"

"Don't think you can fast talk your way out of this, Night Raid scum. I'm taking you down right here!"

Leone cracked her knuckles. "All right, you asked for it!"

Wave rushed towards the feral assassin once more, but she firmly stood where she was standing, instead raising her two fists into a boxing stance. The Jaegar member threw his right fist squarely at his opponent's face, only for her to slip her head past what would've been a damaging blow, countering with a straight right punch of her own. An attack that smashed into the former Imperial navy member's face head on, sending him flying several yards backs and onto the ground.

Over the course of the next several seconds, Wave reeled in pain in spite of his superhumanly durable armor. Little wonder that as the combined effect of Leone's super strength and Wave's own momentum in rushing towards her would've surely reduced any normal human to a bloody pulp.

Nevertheless, being no stranger to a fight, Wave got back up just fine. "My mistake. You're a lot better than you look."

"Awe", Leone winked and blew him a kiss. "Compliments will get you everywhere!"

"Hey, that's not what I meant!", he responded before walking towards her and adopting a boxing stance of his own. "Don't count on me being so reckless again."

To which Leone smirked, maintaining a similar stance. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Wave took the initiative, throwing a left jab towards Leone's face, but the feral assassin swayed her head again, preparing to fire off another right handed counter. His left stopped mid-trajectory however, clearly a feint. Wave instead used his left hand to knock Leone's right out of the way, her face now being wide open. He subsequently threw another punch, this time a powerful right. To which Leone responded, weaving backwards and catching the blow on her right shoulder. She then fired off a a fearsome left hook aimed precisely at Wave's right temple. But Wave nimbly slipped his head back, causing the feral assassin to hit nothing but air and concurrently placing her jaw in the path of a swift left handed uppercut.

An attack the young woman skillfully intercepted with her right hand covering her chin, still feeling a fraction of the punches power as she felt a sharp pain in her jaw. She followed up with a straight left. Wave, having anticipated the trajectory of her move, slipped forwards, simultaneously throwing a straight right. To which Leone grinned, stopping her left mid-motion, a feint just like the one her opponent resorted to earlier. Instead, she threw a straight right of her own. Both warriors put a great deal of strength into these attacks, rotating their hips and torsos counter-clockwise to add power to their blows as they were thrown.

Bam! It was a dual exchange, both adversaries hitting each other head on at the exact same time, both feeling their brains rattle upon impact. Neither fighter fell however. Rather, they had both braced themselves, maintaining their footing after the attack. With the temporary impasse, Leone took the time to pop her nose into place, thankful of her regenerative abilities saving her from having to put up with a broken nose.

Thanks to his armor, the Grand Chariot wielder was not outwardly damaged, though whether there were any internal injuries was a different matter entirely. Even still, he nicely regained his composure within seconds of that last attack. "Not bad. Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

Leone was momentarily taken aback by her opponent's straightforward candid demeanor; she couldn't help but be reminded of a companion she was quite fond of. Then, with a light chuckle, she responded, "You learn all sorts of things growing up in the slums of the capital and having to fight off perverts at the massage parlor all the time. How about yourself?"

To which Wave replied, "My grandfather taught me."

All of this didn't escape the ambassador's attention. She sat at the dock post, her consciousness fading as she watched her own blood pour out of her. Mein appeared to have hit her vital arteries while shooting her earlier. " _After all that, it looks like I'm going to die regardless. In that case . . ."_

Alicia removed a remote device from her bra, different from the one she had used to electrocute Mein and Leone earlier. Then, with her last breath, she yelled. "I MAY DIE HERE TODAY, BUT YOU WILL ALL DIE HERE WITH ME IN SERVICE TO MY COUNTRY!"

Mein, Leone, Bols and Wave all stopped what they were doing, alarmed by the ambassador's words. Without hesitation, she pushed the button on her device, immediately setting off a chain reaction of explosions at the dam overlooking Sin Esperanza.

The Jaegar and Night Raid members watched with dread as the dam crumbled and gigantic waves of water larger than the entire town came hurling in their direction. Waves of water that would surely drown them and everyone in the town.

Leone, Mein and Wave each braced themselves for what appeared to be the end. That was until they saw an equally gigantic wall of fire in front of them. Upon closer inspection, the source of these flames were clear. Bols was standing at the edge of the docks, pouring out more flames from Rubicante than any of them ever thought possible.

For a few moments, they each just stood there in awe and disbelief. Wave especially, for he had not even ever seen his commander Esdeath put on such an awesome display of power. "Bols?"

The masked Jaegar responded, in his usual sincere demeanor. "Wave, I can only keep this up for 30 minutes at most. Get everyone in this town to the hills. I'll join you afterwards."

Wave nodded and turned to face the two Night Raid members. "You heard him. I only have 30 minutes, so lets finish this right now."

Mein rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Are you that stupid? We're going to help."

Beneath his helmet, Wave's eyes widened and his mouth dropped wide open. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Is this another trick or something? Why would you . . . help me?"

The genius sniper had heard just about enough however. She walked up to Wave and poked her finger in his armored chest. "Listen, we're not helping YOU. We're helping the people in this town. Had you not gotten in our way in the first place, we would've killed that psychopathic bitch and prevented her from blowing up the dam."

Wave nodded his head. "I see then. For now, we'll call a temporary truce. Agreed?"

To which Mein and Leone responded simultaneously. "Agreed!"

"Good! Now lets go!", he yelled before running off into the heart of the town.

Mein followed suit, running off in the same direction. "I assume you've got a plan dumbass!"

Leone was about to follow them before hearing Bols say, "Wait!"

* * *

 **[ _. . ._** ** _Ave Maria . . ._ ]**

* * *

Sin Esperanza may have been a small town, but for once, its size played to everyone's fortune as there were no more than 500 people to save. People who would've been reluctant to listen to the unbelievable claims of foreigners if not for the clear and visible wall of flame blocking the gigantic waves that busted through the destroyed dam.

Even more helpful was that the foreigners were acting under the management of the town mayor, Alejandro Enrique. Under his leadership, Leone and Wave used their superhuman strength and speed to carry people up one of the area's nearby hills, well above the valley Sin Esperanza sat in. A process which was expedited by some of the wagons found near the horse stables at the govenor's mansion. With them, Leone and Wave were able to haul entire groups of people.

Meanwhile, Mein alongside several other townsmen, gathered supplies from the governor's mansion. Apparently, a great deal of extra rations was being stored there, despite constant pleas from the townspeople. These supplies were placed i into the remaining wagons and hauled up the hill thanks to the available horses.

This process continued for nearly the full 30 minutes Bols had allotted. As Leone and Waved hauled up another group of people, Alejandro approached them. "I believe that's everyone."

"Are you sure?", Wave asked.

To which the mayor graciously nodded. " Sí. Estoy absolutamente seguro!"

Upon hearing this, Wave released his Grand Chariot state, reverting his imperial arm back to its cutlass state. His sheathed his weapon and sighed in relief. "I'll take that as a yes."

Wave then walked over to the edge of the hill, seeing his comrade from afar as he was still holding the massive body of water at bay. There was a great deal of steam being lifted into the air as he did this, but despite having evaporated so much water for a full 30 minutes, there was still a great deal of it on the other side of Bol's wall of flame. When considering how much water there was in the ocean however, it wasn't surprising.

Nevertheless, with a job well done, Wave yelled out to his companion. "Hey Bols! We've done it. We've saved everyone in town!"

For some reason or another though, Bols merely continued maintaining the wall of flame his Rubicante was producing. Wave wasn't sure what to make of this, yelling even louder "You can stop now Bols! Everyone is safe! Come on up here!"

But for one reason or another, the masked Jaegar simply stood there, his finger firmly on the trigger of his imperial arm. At this point, the Wave was visibly frustrated and cried out once more, this time yelling with all of his might. "STOP! EVERYONE IS SAFE! STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND GET UP HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Still holding his flamethrower in his hands, Bols turned his head ever so slightly, looking upon everyone on the hill out of the corner of his eyes. Wave gritted his teeth, preparing to activate Grand Chariot and run down to the docks directly. But before he could muster another move, Leone grabbed him from behind, locking both of his arms into place.

Wave snarled in response and tryied to desperately to break free, but it was no use. Without activating his imperial arm, he couldn't hope to compete with the super strength Lionelle granted Leone. A fact the feral assassin was well aware of given that Tatsumi's imperial arm was no different in that respect.

"Backstabber!", Wave spat, desperately trying to break free. "I should've known you wouldn't keep your word."

To which Leone responded calmly and nonchalantly. "I am keeping my word. After you ran back into town earlier, your friend asked me hold you down just as soon as we were done saving everyone in the town."

Upon hearing this, the Jaegar stopped struggling, perplexed at the nature of his companion's request. "But . . . why would he ask you to do that?"

Suddenly, the demeanor on Leone's face changed to a look of sorrow. "Because, he doesn't want you to share his fate in a pointless attempt to save him."

Wave's eyes widened. "What . . . are you talking about?"

"His imperial arm. Rubicante. He explained everything to me. For the past 30 minutes, he's been using its trump card. He's able to greatly increase the size and intensity of his flames beyond what they would usually be capable of. However, maintaining these flames, especially for that long requires a level of stamina far beyond any normal human's. They also have a different fuel source."

"Fuel . . . source?"

"His blood."

Down in the valley, at the docks of Sin Esperanza, Bols stood firm. Nevertheless, he had heard his comrade's every word. The pain and exhaustion he was in had to be excruciating. The fact that he was still standing was extraordinary. His willpower was no doubt well beyond human.

As he loosened the grip on Rubicante's trigger, he started hearing the sound of his daughter playing that song she was preparing for her upcoming piano recital; the one he had been humming in the middle of the night. Still seeing everyone on the hill in the corner of his eyes, he noticed Wave being held down by Leone, kicking and screaming. Oddly enough though, Bols couldn't help but notice that his companion's voice appeared to be muted; he saw his lips moving, but heard nothing coming out of them. Instead, all he could hear was the sound of his daughter playing that pleasant song he liked.

He turned his head back towards the gigantic body of water waiting to crush him, his flames steadily weakening. He had long expected this moment to come; the moment when he would finally reap what he sowed for all those people he had killed at the behest of his superiors. But for some reason, he didn't feel any fear. Even the pain he had just been feeling moments ago had vanished without a trace. A part of him was glad. Glad that he was finally able to use his unique talents for something he honestly felt was good.

He gradually loosened the trigger on his imperial arm. All thoughts about Reispan, the Empire and even the Jaegars slipped from his mind. Instead, he could only think about the two people he cherished the most. The more he thought about these two people, the less he could visualize reality. Instead, what he began to see was a room he visited all too often. There were various pictures hanging throughout the room. Each of them were of him and his family; from his wedding day to the day his daughter was born. He looked further into the room and saw his wife standing next to his daughter who was sitting at their black acoustic piano, playing the exact song she would soon be playing at her recital.

His wife, attentively watched as their daughter played this song to absolute perfection. "What's this piece called?", she asked.

To which their daughter happily responded, still playing the song. "Ave Maria."

She then looked up at her husband with a warm and endearing smile. "It's a lovely song, isn't it honey?"

Bols found himself stretching his hand out towards the pair. "Yes . . . it's a lovely song."

At that instant, Bols' flames died out and the waves plowed through the entire town of Sin Esperanza without a moment's notice, crushing everything in their path and filling the entire valley it sat in. The water rose up within mere feet of the hill Wave, Leone, Mein and the townspeople were standing upon.

Leone finally released Wave from her grasp, only for him to fall on his knees. His face was stricken with grief.

Alejandro walked up behind him, resting his hand on the young man's shoulder. "It may not mean much coming from me, but your friend was a hero to the bitter end and none of us will ever forget what he did."

"Neither will we", Mein added, her voice full of sincerity.

The lone Jaegar member got up and began walking away towards the jungle, presumably headed back to Capital. Before leaving though, he turned his head towards the two Night Raid members present. "Since you both kept your words, I'll keep mine. But the next time we meet, it will be as enemies."

With that, Wave disappeared into the trees, no one seeing any sight of him. Leone shrugged her shoulders and sighed, but understood the Jaegar completely. They were enemies and nothing was going to change that.

Mein turned her attention to Alejandro. "What are you all going to do now?"

"For the first time in my life, it honestly feels like I have made a difference. I want to continue doing that, but don't think I can continue to do it on Reispan soil as long as our government is the way it is. In my younger days, I once came across an island down in the south. It was uninhabited and had an ample supply of vegetation, water and fish. It's the perfect place for us to migrate to and start anew. We can build a new society without repeating the mistakes of the past."

Mein rubbed her chin, pondering on Alejandro's plan. "Leaving Reispan directly is too dangerous. If the soldiers saw you all leaving at the border, they would kill you on site. Fortunately, the borders are not without its chinks. It'll take two days, but Leone and I could smuggle you all out the same way we got in. After that, you should tell us where this island is. We can have some people clear out any danger beast inhabiting it in no time"

Hearing this girl's willingness to go to great trouble to assist him and his people caused Alejandro to shed a tear. With a gracious nod, he said "Muchas gracias."

The talented sniper cheerfully smiled and nodded her head. "De nada."

With that, the mayor walked away to discuss matters with some of the other townspeople. Leone walked towards her fellow Night Raid companion, amused by her demeanor. "Am I seeing things? Is Mein actually being nice?"

"Don't get used to it", she responded, still smiling.

"So what's the occasion?", the feral assassin asked, nudging her companion.

"I never told anyone this, but even though I want to end discrimination against Reispanians, for the longest time, I actually hated Reispan and its people. I wanted to think it was because my parents died fleeing this country, but the truth is that I hated having Reispanian blood. It's childish I know, but I blamed Reispan for my misery. I don't know what it was, but today was different. Something about that maid . . . it just made me let go of my hate towards my people."

Hearing this, Leone went from amused to sincere, happy for her friend. "It sounds like you've grown up a bit"

"There's still one problem though: The Reispanian government. Even if we can end the discrimination against its people in the Empire, as long as this government treats its people like this, they're still going to suffer. How can we stop this?"

To which Leone answered, a sudden look of disappointment in her eyes, "I honestly can't answer that."

* * *

 **[. . . _Bestimmung_ . . .]**

* * *

One day prior to the death of Ambassador Eduarda, in a nation north east to the Empire, two of Night Raid's other members were partaking in a mission similar to Mein and Leone's. This was the nation of Bestimmung. Though it was a nation littered with snow and mountains, it was a nation nonetheless known for its people's dual sense of strength and sophistication.

In the southern region of the nation, there was a city called Herz. A prosperous city that was on the cutting edge of trade. Within one of the city's wealthy estates, a ball was currently being held, many pairs of people elegantly dancing on the ballroom floor. At one of the tables near the floor, Tatsumi was sitting down. He was dressed in a black tuxedo and he was nervously fidgeting.

That was when his comrade, Chelsea, walked up to him. Her lollipop was surprisingly absent and she was wearing a radiant black backless sleeveless dress. She smiled at the young man and stuck her hand out towards him. "May I have this dance?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Woot, the end of another chapter. Like I said, I really liked writing this chapter. I'd like to think I gave Bols a better sendoff than the one he got in the original. Also, Ave Maria is a real song and has quite a bit of history behind it. I recommend listening to the piano version of the piece. Just go to youtube and type in  Ave Maria Schubert Liszt Valentina Lisitsa piano. Click on the first video!

Thoughts? Hate it? Love it? Meh? Feel free to favorite, follow or leave a review! Lemme know what you think of this fourth chapter in this _Down a different branch_ AKG installment. Till next time! :D


	6. Kill the Diplomats - Part Three

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 **A/N:** Woot! After an entire month, I present you with a brand spanking new chapter! Sorry the delay. Could've probably had this one out two weeks ago, but practicing law is pretty time consuming at unpredictable intervals. Plus, this chapter ended up being twice as long as I initially intended, but I didn't see any other way to do the scenes in this chapter justice. Before we get started, just a few housekeeping matters to address:

(1) This chapter is long as hell, so I've taken the liberty of dividing and labeling each section so that you can stop, do something else and come back where you left off without having to painstakingly scroll through a massive wall of text.

(2) As always, thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites folks! Am very grateful.

Anyways, without further ado . . .

* * *

 _ **Updated 1/18/17 - Fixed prose and grammatical errors.**_

* * *

 _ **Episode 19: Kill the Diplomats – Part 3**_

Among a dozen other pairs of people, each dressed in tuxedos and gowns respectively, Tasumi found himself waltzing around the ballroom floor, maneuvering his feet and holding onto his dance partner with the utmost grace.

In full sync to the Victorian era composition that was being played, they twirled across the floor from left to right, forward and back, circling each other, never breaking their gaze. Moves that were crafted to such perfection that Chelsea could not help but smile. "I'll admit it; you've gotten a bit better. This morning, you couldn't even take three steps without stepping on my feet or tripping on the floor. Now look at you."

Tatsumi let out a light laugh. "It all seemed so complicated at first, but when you think about it, dancing and swordplay aren't all that different. It all comes down to balance and tranquility."

"Oh? Tranquility? That's not a usual word from you. Maybe I should have gotten to know you a little better before letting you take my hand in marriage."

"It's a word I picked up from Akame . . . who I guess is the closest thing you can call a sister-in-law."

"And such an extravagant wedding ring too. You sure know how to spoil a girl", she said, glancing at the diamond encrusted platinum ring on her right index finger.

He immediately shot her an annoyed look, rolling his eyes as he did. "Yeah . . . well you know me. It's not like I would ever STEAL a ring like that from one of the nobles in the lobby while she wasn't looking after getting blackmailed."

To which Chelsea gave a knowing smirk. "Yeah. And I'm SURE you would also never walk around a large crowd with your fly unzipped and get laughed at back in that nearby town either."

"It's so nice to know I married someone who is isn't so cold and manipulative!"

"And it's so nice to know I married someone who isn't a klutz and knows how to keep his mouth shut while we're being observed by an entire room of people."

"Point taken. So how are we supposed to get noticed?"

"When I visited the powder room earlier, I arranged for the band to play that song we practiced the most."

"Y-y-you mean . . ."

"You can't afford to be nervous. They detest weakness here. They'll sniff it out a mile away. Besides, you're doing fine as it is. It's like you said: balance and tranquility. Pull this off and we're that much closer to our goal."

Tatsumi took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay. I'm ready."

"Good. It'll be starting any minute now. Don't forget what I showed you."

As the two continued waltzing around the ballroom floor, the composition the band had been playing began to fade, prompting everyone on the floor to stop in nigh-complete synchronization.

The band's conductor briefly turned to face everyone in the ballroom. "This next piece goes out to the Schlaf Drachen family. Here representing them today are their two newlyweds, Tatsumi and Chelsea."

At that moment, the room darkened and grew to a deafening silence. A stagelight subsequently flashed upon both Night Raid members, signaling every other couple to leave the dance floor and promptly return to their tables.

Without pause, the conductor turned his attention back to the band. With a sharp thrust of his baton, mesmerizing sounds from several violins, a flute, a piano, a double bass, and at least two bandoneons could be heard.

As he heard the music starting, Tatsumi recalled what his companion had said to him earlier in the day when she was teaching him this dance, amidst repeat blunders on his part. " _There's only one rule in the tango. Our bodies must be in continuous contact without a sliver of daylight in between us._ "

And so the two stood facing each other chest-to-chest in full body contacts, so much to the point that even their heads were touching one another. They made sure to stand offset from each other, such that each had their right foot in between the feet of the other. Thus so it went. They once again waltzed around the ballroom, except this time with much sharper movements, choreographing the music they were dancing to with much greater precision. It was quite the radiant display, many of moves causing the crowd to gasp; not a single person could turn their eyes away, mesmerized by Tatsumi and Chelsea's movements.

The dance went on for a full five minutes. And once the music reached a dramatic end, Tatsumi twirled his auburn haired companion around, only to then let her drop down until her back was but two feet from touching the floor. Of course, he didn't let her fall; he intimately held Chelsea up with his hands wrapped around her waist. True to the rules of the tango, he did this while still keeping his body in close symmetry with her's. The only part of his body that wasn't touching her during this pose was his face, which was but an inch from hers.

With that abrupt and precise end, the crowd erupted into standing applause. There didn't appear to be even a single person within the ballroom that wasn't awed and mystified by the two dancers' grand and elegant movements.

Amidst the roaring applause, Tatsumi, still in the same position, gazed down upon his partner, a bit bewildered. "Um Chelsea . . . are you blushing?"

"It's the heat from the spotlight. It's a bit too much for me."

He delicately lifted her up to her feet. "Well we better get you back to the table. Can't have you sweating at a time like this.

"You're really clueless sometimes, aren't you Tatsumi?"

He shrugged his shoulders, legitimately confused. "Something wrong?"

"No", she sighed. "Lets head back to the table."

As they walked off the floor, other couples proceeded to make their way back onto it, continuing to dance as the band went back to play its Victorian era composition.

Tatsumi and Chelsea meanwhile took their seats, the auburn haired assassin pleased with how things had progressed thus far. "Well, at very least, our dancing garnered the strong crowd pleasing reaction I was hoping for."

"So then now what?"

"Now we play the waiting the game."

Just as she had uttered these words, a servant approached their tables. "Ambassador Hartmann was most pleased with you two's performance just now. He would like for you both to join him at his table in the balcony."

"Speak of the devil", Chelsea smiled. "We would be delighted to join the ambassador's company."

And so the two Night Raid members arose from their seats and followed the ambassador's servant upstairs. There, they found a balcony overlooking the entire ballroom, particularly the dance floor.

At the balcony was a nice and round dinner table with a full assortment on dishes sitting on it, ranging from roasted lamb to mashed potatoes. A well-built muscular middle aged man with ducktail blue hair and a chinstrap blue beard sat at the table, dressed in formal attire, with his arms around two young vivacious attractive women sitting to his left and right. The two women adoringly rubbed up against this man, caressing his muscles and rubbing their hands across his chest. He appeared to be enjoying the attention these women were showing him, not having yet noticed the two Night Raid members standing before his table.

The servant loudly cleared his throat, immediately getting this man's attention. "As you requested your excellency, I present to you Tatsumi and Chelsea of the Schlaf Drachen family."

To which the ambassador responded respond with the utmost interest. "The dancing newlyweds! That was quiet a performance just now! To be frank, these events usually put me to sleep, but I found myself watching your moves and hanging onto every detail. Come, have a seat! Wilfred, fetch these two some of our finest wine!"

"As you wish your excellency", said the servant as he bowed before walking away.

As the two assassins took their seats at the table, the ambassador slapped his forehead, as if he had forgotten something. "Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Klaus Hartmann. I am the Bestimmung war council ambassador as well as the owner of this estate. Tell me, what feat did you perform to get an invitation to this ball? With moves likes the ones you showed on the floor, I'm guessing it was grand."

Tatsumi nodded. "We slayed a class one Ice Rhino. It's horn was too big to bring through the front door, so your servants agreed to place it inside your stables for now."

Hearing this made the ambassador laugh excitedly. "I'll have to see it for myself after the ball is over! And you two slayed such a beast by yourselves?"

Chelsea nodded as well. "Lets just say that dealing with beasts like that is routine for us."

Klaus looked to the two woman at his side. "You two can leave us. We'll finish our 'conversation' in my chambers later."

To which the two young strumpets responded by simply getting up from their seats and walking away, one taking the time to flirtatiously wink at Tatsumi before leaving, causing him to blush.

"Oh", said the ambassador, intrigued by Tatsumi's reaction. "My manners are greatly lacking tonight. If you'd like, I can arrange one of them to visit you later on as well. Just say the word."

Tatsumi was about to open his mouth, only to be elbowed by Chelsea. "I think my husband has better things to be doing tonight."

Hearing this made the ambassador chuckle. "I understand you loud and clear. He hasn't broken you in yet, has he? Far be it from me to prevent you from getting the first crack. Based on the way he was moving on the floor earlier, you're in for a hell of a night between the sheets."

Chelsea blushed for a few passing seconds as thoughts a little less crude crossed her mind. Even so, she quickly changed the subject. "I take it you've slain your own share of beasts."

"More than you'll ever know. Before my days as an ambassador, I would even work alongside the Partas Clan. Lots of people have forgotten, but this very city used to be the territory of an ultra-class Ice Bear at least 60 feet tall. The bastard had wiped out all of our men. It got down to the point where it was just Vater and I going up against it. It gave us quite a struggle, but we managed to slaughter the beast together."

"Who is Vater?", Tatsumi asked out of curiosity?"

"Who is Vater? It really has been a while, hasn't it? There was a time when everyone in this country knew his name, but I suppose getting killed is a good way to become forgotten. Vater is . . . or rather was the leader of the Partas Clan. Back before those Northern tribe bastards wiped him out. He was a damn fine warrior."

" _The leader of the Partas Clan?"_ , Tatsumi thought, memories of a conversation he had with Esdeath surging through his mind. " _He's talking about Esdeath's father."_

"But enough about me. I'd like to talk about something else."

"Sure. What's on your mind?", Tatsumi replied.

"Tomorrow, some of my men and I will be going on a Danger Beast hunting expedition. I would like for you and your wife to join us."

The two Night Raid members briefly glanced at one another before nodding their heads. Chelsea answered the ambassador's request. "We would be delighted to join you on your expedition."

Klaus laughed excitedly once more. "Good! Good! This is great! If you two slaughtered a class-one Ice Rino on your own, I can't wait to see how you fare in battle!"

Wilfred returned with a bottle of wine, making sure to fill up Tatsumi and Chelsea's glasses. He then turned his attention towards the ambassador. "Your excellency, your other guest just arrived here and will be joining you shortly."

Klaus laughed excitedly once more, this time pounding his fist into the table as he laughed. "Ah yes, my other guest. You two are in for a real treat. You're about to meet a very powerful general from the Grand Empire. The general will be joining us on our expedition tomorrow, but you don't have to worry. The good general is only interested in pursuing some assassins who are apparently after my life. We discussed it for a bit, but the general has sworn not to interfere with any of the beasts we hunt."

Needless to say, Tatsumi did his best not to reveal his thoughts towards this predicament. " _SHIT! If Esdeath sees me here, this operation is blown. How did she even know we'd be going after the ambassador?"_

Wilfred placed another glass at the table and filled it up with wine before heading back downstairs. The sounds of footsteps could subsequently be heard coming up the stairs, a bead of sweat simultaneously lingering down Tatsumi's forehead. Chelsea, on the other hand, appeared to be as nonchalant as usual.

Finally, a figure appeared from the stairway and approached the ambassador's table. Tatsumi hesitantly turned his head to see who it was, only to sigh in relief. This approaching figure was certainly not Esdeath, but rather a tall and statuesque blond headed man donning a dark gray suit of armor.

"Budo!", Klaus said, gazing excitedly at this approaching figure. "How good of you to join us!"

Budo took a seat at the table, his demeanor appearing to be indifferent as he sat down. "I trust your party has gone without any hitches, Ambassador Hartmann."

To which the ambassador replied. "Budo, there's no need to call me that here. It's a party. Relax. Klaus will do."

The burly general remained stern and composed. "Hmmph. Very well, Klaus. How has the party been thus far?"

"Between you and me: A complete snoozefest. That is, until these newlyweds got on the floor with the finest dance I've ever laid eyes upon. So much so that I've decided to have them accompany me on the hunt tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Budo immediately turned his head towards both Night Raid members, glaring them both down thoroughly to the point of awkwardness. He subsequently focused his attention on Tatsumi, solely glaring him down until eventually . . .

"Is there something wrong?", Tatsumi asked in an effort to ascertain whether he had blown his cover.

"Haven't I seen you somewhere before?", the burly general responded.

"No. This is the first time I've met a general from the Grand Empire." A lie, but one Tatsumi had no intention of allowing to be exposed.

Budo rubbed his chin, pondering on the matter before turning his attention back to the ambassador. "How much do you know of these two newlyweds?"

To which Klaus responded. "They're from the Schlaf Drachen family, well known for their black smithing abilities. Hansel Schlaf Drachen himself, the current head of their estate, personally spoke of these two yesterday, telling me how happy his son had finally found someone worthy enough to extend the family tree. Before coming here, these two even killed a class-one Ice-Rino."

Budo nodded his head. "I suppose all of that checks out, but you can't be too careful, especially when assassins are pursuing your life."

Klaus laughed at the burly general's suggestion. "You worry too much my old friend! Don't forget that I can handle myself very well when I need to."

Sensing an opportunity to clear up any lingering doubts, Chelsea chimed in towards Budo, "My husband did once compete in a fencing competition held in the Grand Empire's capital. In the final round, he bested Jean Durellione himself. Majestically at that. Perhaps you attended the event."

The burly general continued rubbing his chin. "Hmm, it's possible. It's been a while though. I'd have to think about it."

Hearing this seemed to amuse the ambassador to no end. "Tatsumi you dog! Why didn't you tell me you bested one of the Durellione's brats. Now I just have to see you in battle."

"I'm looking forward to it!", Tatsumi said rather boastfully. He was heeding Chelsea's advice to not show any signs of weakness.

"That's the spirit!", enthusiastically said the ambassador as he took a sip of wine. "So, Budo. Tell me, how goes the war against that Revolutionary Army?"

"Hmmph. Putting down a bunch of rebels should never be confused with partaking in a war."

"But they have gotten increasingly powerful", Klaus replied, somewhat more composed than he had been up to this point. "I hear you even had to put down those Northern Tribe bastards or else they and the rebels would've posed a serious problem down the road."

"Don't be naïve, Klaus. A war is fought between nations. It takes much more than power alone to elevate a group of traitors to the level of a nation."

"Perhaps, but I'm still curious as to how you intend to deal with them. Regardless of what they are, I hear they are growing more and more powerful."

"Don't worry. We have our ideas. We'll deal with them when the time comes."

"General Budo", Tatsumi interjected. "It's true the Revolutionary Army are traitors, but what do you think of their cause? From what I hear, they believe they are just trying to get rid of the corruption in the Empire."

Chelsea shot her companion a glare of disapproval, but opted not to say anything; maintaining her facade was far too crucial. Budo on the other hand, instantly turned his attention back towards Tatsumi. "Then it seems you've heard nothing but foolish prattle and propaganda. If the Revolutionary Army has its way, it will attack the Capital and needlessly put innocent lives at risk all for its own gain."

"You don't believe there's any corruption in the Capital?"

"Only a fool would deny there was."

"Then why don't you intend to do anything about it?", Tatsumi asked before feeling his companion stomp on his foot beneath the table.

"Not an opinion I'd expect to hear from a Bestimung noble", The burly general said while skeptically narrowing his eyes. "As to your question, as soon as I have eliminated the rebel trash, I will be dealing with the source of the Grand Empire's corruption personally."

"You might be surprised, Budo. I can already tell this boy here isn't like most Bestimmung nobles. Just wait until you get a load of him tomorrow." Just the look on the ambassador's face made it obvious; his words were laced with pride.

Budo turned his attention back to the Bestimmung ambassador. "Klaus, about that other matter . . ."

To which Klaus responded, removing two tickets from his coat pocket and handing them both to Chelsea. "The good general and I will have some important business to discuss after we're done eating. Why don't you and your husband attend this show in my steed afterwards? I'm told it's quite the spectacle!"

* * *

 **[. . . _The spectacle_ . . .]**

* * *

The remainder of the ball went without incident. Both Tatsumi and Chelsea dined with Klaus and Budo before saying their goodbyes and giving their assurances that they'd be present at the planned hunting expedition the following morning. They left the ambassador's estate and proceeded to make their way to the local theater, Tatsumi being amazed by the cosmopolitan environment on every block as they headed there. The tall buildings composed of steel and concrete, the numerous tailor establishments, the aroma of high class cuisine constantly filling his nostrils, the busy streets with horse carriages constantly being drawn back and forth and every piece of road consisting of cobblestone. Despite the constant snow, the city of Herz was truly a metropolis.

After giving their tickets to the ticket master, they were guided to a dark and enormous room with thousands of seats all facing a red-curtained stage. Thanks to the ambassador's tickets, the two Night Raid members were guided to their own private balcony, seated in arguably the best seats in the house. They were clearly in for a popular show as it didn't take long for every seat in the theater to be filled.

The play was set to begin shortly and the two assassins were already in the midst of a detailed conversation.

Chelsea was glaring at her companion with disapproval in her eyes. "I know you're passionate about our cause, Tatsumi, but General Budo suspecting us of anything is the last thing we need right now."

"Sorry", Tatsumi said while rubbing the back of his head out of embarrassment. "I don't really know what came over me back there."

"Don't sweat it, but try to avoid that subject from here on out. Bestimmung nobles couldn't care less about the corruption in the Capital."

"But isn't that the reason we're here?"

"Technically, no. As of now, it's not public knowledge that their government has been aiding the Revolutionary Army. There are some suspicions here and there, but all of that has been disregarded as mere rumor by the general populace. And why wouldn't it be? This country has been historically neutral, generally concerning itself only with its own affairs."

A sentiment which Tatsumi found to be peculiar. "It doesn't really look like this country has that many affairs to be honest. Maybe it's just us being in a nice city, but everything seems so . . . refined."

"It's not just this city. Much of Bestimmung is exactly like this."

"If that's the case, this country really isn't all bad."

Chelsea gave a knowing yet ominious sigh upon hearing this. "You think so?"

Before Tatsumi could voice an answer, the room darkened completely and the red-curtains on the stage were raised up entirely, signifying the beginning of the play. The very first scene depicted two brothers, both young men; one addressed as Baldwin and the other as Erich. They were standing by at their bed ridden grandfather's side as he lay dying due to a terminal illness.

The grandfather let out several painful coughs. "It's looks like I'm not long for this world, so now is as good a time as any."

Both Baldwin and Erich leaned in closer as their grandfather motioned for them to do so. "Your wretched father is worthless, so I'm passing my estate onto one of you."

"Which one of us?", said Erich. It was just an actor giving his line, but the eagerness in his eyes was as plain as day.

The grandfather grabbed Erich's hand, gazed into his eyes and said "Whichever one of you is worthy."

Baldwin spoke up, bewildered by this comment. "What do you mean, grandfather?"

To which the grandfather replied, gazing into the other brother's eyes. "Know this, boy. There are many things in this world, but the only thing that means a damn is power. Without power, you're a useless wretch just waiting to be trampled upon. Your father once understood this. He was the finest doctor in all of Bestimmung; he had no equal and could have had anything he wanted. But then your worthless mother had to come down with an illness. The fool threw away his entire practice and spent all of his time trying to cure her. To cure a woman who has nothing of value to her own name. And now look where he is. Weak and forgotten; a shell of what he once was. Despite all of his efforts to cure a single worthless woman, she dies anyway by getting mauled by danger beasts out in the forest. Don't make his mistake."

With these final words, the grandfather laid his head down and peacefully closed his eyes.

Baldwin and Erich then turned their attention to each other, Erich being the first to speak. "So the old codger finally kicked the bucket. Took him long enough. But he is right about one thing. Our father ruined his own life. Had he spent his time on something more worthwhile like curing grandfather instead, he'd be the one receiving the inheritance and could have easily rebuilt his practice, perhaps even making it twice as impressive as it was before."

Baldwin steadfastly shook his head and grabbed his brother by his collar. "Something more worthwhile? You can't be serious, brother. That's our own mother you're talking about!"

Erich swiftly slapped his brother's hands away. "That's all in the past, buried and done with. We only have one more year until the academy's final exam. If you don't want to die, I suggest you start focusing on the present."

Baldwin eyes appeared to be full of resolve. "I won't die brother and neither will you. I'll see to it that we both survive the exam. Afterwards, let's work together. With your medical skills and my talents as a warrior, there's no limit to what we can accomplish."

Erich looked upon his brother with curiosity gleaming in his eyes. "What would you have in mind?"

"You can take the information father had gained in curing mother's illness, restore his practice and become just as good a doctor as he was. Whereas I can start a mercenary group, take to the fields and slay as many danger beasts possible, insuring that what happened to mother doesn't happen to anyone else."

"Those are lofty goals", Erich smirked.

Baldwin nodded. "They are, but with grandfather's inheritance and the two of us working together, we will succeed at them. I just know it, brother."

Erich reached his arm out towards Baldwin's and the two firmly shook hands.

Throughout this scene, Chelsea sat idly by in her seat, somewhat disinterested, sucking upon his signature lollipop. Tatsumi on the other hand watched every moment with baited breath. Usually, a play wasn't something he'd be interesting in viewing. For months on end, his entertainment had consisted of swinging weighted weapons relentlessly and helping Akame or Su prepare breakfast. But here, things were different. Above all else, something about this Baldwin character fascinated Tatsumi to no end.

Over the course of the following two hours, the play continued to captivate his attention with humor, action and drama. So much so that as the play was reaching its climax, Tatsumi found himself sitting on the edge of his seat, craving to see what would happen next.

Erich and Baldwin were in the middle of taking the academy exam they had talked about. Their exam evidently consisted of being sent out in an eight-man team to a small neighboring island. They were assigned to retrieve the skull of a relatively powerful danger beast and bring it back to the academy within one day.

The team made their way through the island until finally facing off against the beast they were pursuing. It was a long and intense battle, with most of the team perishing, save for Baldwin and Erich. Erich may well have perished, if not for him serving as the team's medic, Baldwin going out of his way to protect him and remaining on the sidelines. With one final attack, Baldwin used his spear to land the killing blow on the creature.

And thus the battle was won and an exhausted Baldwin was only able to hold himself up by clinging onto his spear. "We did it brother! We did it! At long last, we . . ."

But his victory came short, for before the noble warrior could utter another word, the tip of one of the swords used by one of the other warriors was protruding from his stomach. Baldwin turned his head, only to look as if he had seen a ghost. The one responsible for this treachery was none other than . . .

"Congratulations brother. You bested that danger beast just as I anticipated."

Baldwin looked upon his brother, hurt and betrayed. "But . . . why?"

"It's nothing personal. I'm simply doing what must be done. You've served your purpose, so now enjoy your reward of being able to rest in hell with mother where you belong. I, on the hand, will enjoy the notoriety father once had. No, it'll be beyond what he had. With grandfather's inheritance and me bringing back the skull of this danger beast on my own, there's no telling what kind of prestige I'll obtain. Cast those judgmental eyes away from me, for I am not to blame for your predicament. Rather, it's simply the way the world is, the way it has always been and the way it will always be. The strong live and the weak who die. In truth, brother, you have always just been a weakling waiting to be devoured by the strong."

Tatsumi quickly found himself filled with indignation. To say that he was disgusted by the conniving ways of Erich was an understatement. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands as tight as he could. But then a thought occurred to the Incuriso wielder. This was just a play. A thought that caused him to sigh in relief as he was comforted by the fact that Erich was sure to receive his comeuppance. Indeed, what happened to Baldwin was tragic, but would not go unanswered. So he thought.

And so as the scene continued to play out, Tatsumi sat in his seat with anticipation waiting for this moment he was certain would come. He waited and waited over the next fifteen minutes as the play was reaching its conclusion. He watched with great eagerness as Erich brought the slain danger beast's skull back to the academy, received his grandfather's inheritance and opened up a highly successful medical practice.

But contrary to the Tatsumi's expectations, the final scene of the play was one depicting Erich sitting in a cushy chair at his personal medical office, sipping wine and smiling to himself in regards to his success. It was then that the red curtains fell and the theater room was lightened again.

Almost immediately, everyone in the room besides the two Night Raid members, stood up and gave a standing ovation. Chelsea continued to sit in her seat, indifferently sucking on her lollipop, but Tatsumi bewilderedly glanced left and right. " _What is wrong with these people?!"_

Not being able to stomach another moment of this depravity, Tatsumi immediately bolted out of the theater, disgusted with what the ambassador had described as being 'quite the spectacle.' Indeed, twas the first story he had ever seen end in such a fashion. He made his way to a nearby street corner, reflecting on what he had just watched. " _What was I thinking? This country isn't all bad? It's got to be rotten to the core for people to enjoy something like that!"_

Chelsea, having left the theater in much more nonchalant fashion, arrived by her companion's side shortly afterward. "I take it you won't be coming back to Bestimmung to see the sequel."

A quip which the boy didn't acknowledge. "That play . . . do the people here really think like that?"

Chelsea removed her lollipop from her mouth and tapped her head, pondering for a moment. "Hmm . . . no more so than we think like the characters in King Arthur."

"King who?"

"You're not very well read, are you Tatsumi?"

He smiled, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, but in my village, the most our school ever taught us was how to read, write and do math."

She sighed "At any rate, the point is that that play is no more accurate than the stories in our country. There's no one quite as good and courageous as King Arthur, but the average person in the Empire respect his ideals and wishes to live up to them. In the same way, Erich is no different. The people here respect his cunning, his ability to get ahead and his ability to get results. Baldwin may have slain that danger beast, but he's viewed as weak whereas Erich is viewed as strong."

"There's nothing strong about Erich. He killed his own brother for his own personal gain."

"And in the eyes of the Bestimmung people, that's what makes him so brilliant. The lengths he will go to attain power. Murdering a brother isn't quite the norm here, but you'd be surprised how many would-be Erichs there were even at that ball. Planning, plotting, scheming, gaining influence. It's all the same. Even the ambassador here is no doubt just wearing a mask to hide his true intentions. It's why sophistication is such a virtue here. Sure, one can be physically strong, but in my experience, the human mind is a far greater asset."

Tatsumi smirked. "I take it that's your greatest asset."

To which Chelsea swiftly looked away, making certain her comrade couldn't see her face, before replying. "It's getting a little too chilly out here. Let's head back to the inn."

* * *

 **[. . . _It's a_ _promise_ . . .]**

* * *

It didn't take long for the two assassins to arrive at a luxury inn. One Chelsea had evidently booked for a room in advance. Even their luggage had already been taken care of, allowing Tatsumi and Chelsea to simply walk upstairs and enter their suite. Not just any suite, but a honeymoon suite suitable for newlyweds. One equipped with a foyer with a water fountain in the center, a living room with a loveseat couch and a thin wall sized fish tank, a bathroom with an inground bath tub that may as well have been a hot tub and a bedroom with an extravagant king sized bed with rose petals scattered all across it.

Tatsumi skeptically glanced at his companion upon seeing this. "You know, we probably could have saved money by just getting one of the normal rooms here or just going to a less expensive inn."

To which Chelsea responded. "The Schlaf Drachens are a wealthy family. The two of us occupying a hotel, much less a room, any less profligate then this may very well be cause for suspicion."

Tatsumi shrugged his shoulders. "Suspicion to who? In case you haven't noticed, it's just the two of us in here."

A point, though logical, didn't appear to concern the auburn haired assassin. "True, but suppose Budo or one of the ambassador's servants pops by here for whatever reason. It's not a possibility we can just ignore. Besides, this room is well within the budget."

"Why do I get the feeling you just wanted to stay in a nice room?"

"Now what would give you that idea?", she said with a playful wink.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, I don't know. Just a hunch."

She giggled. "In that case, leave all the hunches to me and you just focus on being ready for tomorrow's expedition."

"Right", he nodded with the utmost confidence. "Speaking of hunches though, did you know General Budo was going to be here?"

"While I was . . . persuading the orchestra to play music suitable for our tango, I noticed him arriving outside from the corner of my eye through one of the ballroom windows."

Tatsumi appeared to be puzzled. "How did he know we're trying to assassinate Ambassador Hartmann?"

"I honestly have no idea. Very few people in or associated with the Revolutionary Army have advance notice of when and how an official mission is going to be carried out. Still, Budo doesn't appear to know that we're the ones who have been assigned to complete this mission, so it's possible he deduced that we'd be targeting Ambassador Hartmann through some other means."

"But if he's a general, that means he's in the same league as Esdeath."

"Yes, General Budo isn't as strong as Esdeath, but he is very powerful nonetheless and has thrown a bit of a wrench into our plans. Without him here, we probably could have assassinated the ambassador tonight in his bedroom, but with Budo here, we don't have a choice but to look for an opening elsewhere. This expedition is probably our best chance. It'll be out in the middle of nowhere, increasing our chances of separating the two."

"So then . . . I guess the only question at this point is . . . who gets the bed?", he said with a big grin.

Chelsea smiled. "You can have the bed Tatsumi."

"Really?"

"Sure, and while I'm at it, I can also see to it that you wake up next morning with your testicles in a ribbon bow tied box."

Beads of sweat manifested themselves on the young swordsman's face. "Uh . . . you know, I've always been a bigger fan of the couch anyway."

"Thought so", she smiled. "Now unless you'd like to wake up next morning with a nice ribbon bow tied box next to you, I suggest you not peep on me while I take a bath."

"Noted", he muttered fearfully.

With that, Tatsumi grabbed an extra blanket from the bedroom closet and proceeded to lie down on the couch in the living room. As he laid there gazing at the exotic marine life in the wall size fish tank, he began to recall the event which had occurred days ago; how the Lord, now known to him as the leader of the Revolutionary Army, had arrived at Night Raid's base of operations to personally assign to them what he referred to as their 'final mission.'

Najenda had been standing next to the Revolutionary Army leader, evidently having already discussed the details of the mission with him in advance. As soon as he had finished informing the group of their assassination targets, Najenda directed her attention to the team. " _I've already assigned who will go after each target. Akame and Lubbock: You two will go to the city of_ _Ayatollah in Ali-Jinnah and eliminate Shahin Abdullah_. _Leone and Mein: Both of you will go to the south eastern region of Reispan. We don't know Alicia Eduarda's exact location, but she's rumored to be visiting that area briefly. See to it that she doesn't make it out of there alive. Lastly, Tatsumi and Chelsea: You two will head to the city of Herz in Bestimmung; your objective is to assassinate Klaus Hartmann._ "

Tatsumi recalled himself looking at both Chelsea and his commander with confusion. " _With all due respect boss, I'm not sure if Chelsea and I are compatible. We've never even been on a mission together."_

But Najenda didn't appear concerned. " _I've divided the teams because you all have skills that complement each other, making you all fit for direct and indirect battle as well as boldness and subtlety._ "

Chelsea had nudged the coffee haired assassin with her elbow. " _Not to mention you've been partnered with the only person in this group who has any extensive background in high level espionage."_

The Lord had seemed pleased with these arrangements, nodding his head to Najenda's decisions. " _You each carry a very heavy burden as the outcome of this mission will determine whether our army can finally defeat the Grand Empire and restore order once and for all. To do that, these ambassadors must be removed at once. They are each corrupt pawns of the Prime Minister and the only ones that influentially stand in the way of Ali Jinnah, Reispan and Bestimmung finally supporting us out in the open. Once we have their support, we will have enough forces to overwhelm the Capital and prevent thousands of innocent people from getting caught in the crossfire."_

Dwelling on that last sentence, Tatsumi finally dozed off. Nonetheless, for one reason or another, he found himself waking up several hours later in the middle of the night. It was the sound of someone else sleeping that alerted him. He rose up, only to notice Chelsea leaning against the right side of the couch, wearing nothing but a black sleeveless nightgown.

He quickly rolled his eyes. " _I thought she wanted the bed."_

A few mishaps here and there aside, Tatsumi was still a gentleman at heart. Without even giving it a second thought, he rose up, delicately scooped Chelsea up until she was in his arms and carried her back to the king sized bed in the bedroom. He then set her down and placed the covers over her.

He then began to walk away, almost making it back into the living room until he heard a sleepy voice say "I thought I told you what would happen if you ever tried peeping at me again."

Tatsumi quickly turned around, somewhat annoyed. "Oh c'mon, that's not even fair! You were sleeping next to the couch and would've caught a cold had I not carried you back to the bed."

"Hmm . . . sleeping next to a couch rather than lying a warm bed. It doesn't sound like something I'd do. I must've been sleep walking."

"Seriously?", he looked at her incredulously.

"Absolutely", she said, smirking and maintaining her usual nonchalant demeanor.

"Huh . . . well, goodnight." Tatsumi turned back around, once again preparing to head back to the couch, only to yet again be stopped upon hearing his fellow Night Raid member utter the words.

"Wait."

He turned around again, clearly annoyed. "Now what?" As he turned around, he could not help but notice a sincerer look in his fellow assassin's eyes. She looked . . . uncertain. "Is there something wrong?", he asked, concern in his voice.

"If I read your file correctly, you joined Night Raid because your village was suffering from prolonged poverty."

He nodded his head. "That's the reason."

"But a few weeks ago, you told us that Esdeath had arranged requisitions to routinely be sent to your village in order to fix just that."

"Correct."

"So then why are you still here? No matter who wins at this point, your village is safe."

"Because it's not just about me. I couldn't possibly sit by knowing my village is safe while rest of the Empire is not. No matter what, the Prime Minister must be stopped and I will not rest until he is beaten."

"No matter what? So you'll carry all of that weight on your shoulders, just like that?

He nodded his head. "I've lost too many people I care about because of his influence and I refuse to let their deaths be in vain."

"But you could die as well, you know."

"I won't."

"Don't be stupid. People die. That's the way it is. You're no different, Tatsumi."

"That's not true.", he said with a chuckle. "Unlike most people, I've got you watching my back."

"That's not funny."

"Maybe, but it's true. You watch my back and I'll watch yours. That way, we'll see to it that neither of us dies."

Chelsea widened her eyes for several moments, astonished at the simplicity of her companion's answer. She nonetheless could not help but let out an innocent laugh "You're really clueless sometimes, aren't you Tatsumi?"

"Hmm?"

"Okay", she said with a cheerful smile. "It's a promise. You'll watch my back and I'll watch yours. That's the way we'll do things from here on out."

Tatsumi returned her cheerful smile with a cheerful smile of his own before heading back to the couch.

* * *

 **[. . . _Onto the expedition_ . . .]**

* * *

The night had come to an end and it was yet again day. Or perhaps mid-morning to be more precise. Tatsumi and Chelsea rode together on horseback towards a location the ambassador had informed them about before they had left to attend the play. Tatsumi was dressed in the black winter coat he had worn when he had first left his village to head to the Capital all those months ago whereas Chelsea was dressed in similar appropriate winter clothing.

They entered a snowy forest miles away from Herz. Well within the forest was a small clearing where Ambassador Hartmann, General Budo and twenty armed Bestimmung soldiers were all waiting on horseback. The ambassador appeared to be dressed in brown leather armor and a black cape.

As he noticed the approaching pair, Klaus greetfully and enthusiastically waved his hand, "You made it!"

Tatsumi nodded his head. "So . . . what are we hunting?"

"Straight to business. I like this kid", the ambassador replied, jovial as always. "Unidentified danger beasts have been reported to be lurking in this region."

"Do you know what kind of beasts they are?", Chelsea asked.

To which the ambassador shrugged his shoulders. "Nope. Various patrol groups have been sent into this area to investigate, but none have come back alive. Not even any stragglers. Clearly, these beasts are mighty damn strong, but if I had to go by my own gut feeling, I'd say it's two beasts and they are both supreme-class."

"How will we find them?", Tatsumi asked.

To which the ambassador replied. "That's the best part. If we wonder around this area enough, they'll find us. After all, they slaughtered all of those patrol units. Surely they'll try the same with us."

Chelsea immediately realized what the ambassador was implying ."So we're basically walking bait."

"Ha! A blunt way to put it, but yes! Bait!", Klaus replied, before letting out a hearty laugh.

At that very moment, the howls of multiple wolves could be heard closing in nearby. Some of the Bestimmung soldiers, each equipped with hunting rifles, suddenly reached for their weapons, but Klaus motioned for them to stop. "Save your ammunition for the main course. Tatsumi and I will handle these vermin."

The Incursio wielder concurred, hopping off his horse and reaching for Incursio's key from the sheath on his back. Klaus hopped off his horse as well, interestingly also drawing a close range weapon; the ambassador sported a claymore, the blade being composed of pure obsidian.

A total of fourteen white wolves approached the clearing from multiple sides. But these clearly weren't ordinary wolves. Each was at least as big as a lion, each had much thicker teeth and each had glowing red eyes.

"Ah, just as I suspected", said the ambassador as he firmly gripped his blade and adopted a battle stance. "All class one Ice wolves. And we're in luck too! Seven for the both of us, eh Tatsumi?"

Tatsumi nodded his head while adopting a battle stance of his own. " _They look tough and may have been the end of me had I run into them before I joined Night Raid. But now . . ."_

One of the wolves leaped towards Tatsumi, attempting to pounce upon and sink its teeth into his neck. The wolf couldn't even see what came next however, as its head was already rolling on the ground.

Five wolves charged towards the ambassador from multiple directions, one at his front, two at his left and two at his right. A surprisingly coordinated and intelligent tactic for bloodthirsty beasts as they were moving in unison. A great deal of other warriors in this position would surely have met their end, but Ambassador Hartmann clearly wasn't like a great deal of other warriors. With masterful execution, he pivoted his left leg and swung his blade like a whirlwind, bisecting all five in one sweeping fashion. To the untrained eye, it would have appeared as if his sword was in several places at once.

The other wolves tried attacking everyone else, once again prompting the Bestimmung soldiers to reach for their weapons, but Budo spoke out. "Stop. It won't be necessary."

Tatsumi sliced and diced another four wolves like it was nothing, his body almost a blur as he cut them down. Chelsea appeared to be intrigued by his movements. " _Unbelievable. He just keeps getting better and better and better."_

Just as the female assassin was thinking this, two wolves leapt up behind her and the horse she was sitting on. She noticed this at the last second and instinctively removed several lethal needles from her coat pocket as they drew closer. But before they drew any closer, they were both instantly cut down by her fellow Night Raid assassin.

The two remaining wolves, growing increasingly aware of the fact that the other twelve members of their pack had been decimated, attempted to make a run for it, fleeing out of the clearing and back towards the forest. Upon noticing this, Tatsumi prepared to give chase. "Oh no you don't!"

But the ambassador stood in the way. "Stay back, Tatsumi. The deal was seven each, remember? I'll handle this."

Klaus firmly stood his ground and held the hilt of his blade with two hands while adopting a striking posture. Then, with one quick and powerful swing, a precise gust of air, almost invisible manifested itself in response and went flying after the two wolves, almost instantly cutting them down from a distance.

Tatsumi couldn't quite make out what had just happened. Nonetheless, as a swordsman himself, he was deeply impressed. Awed and mystified even. "That sword you have there: Is that an Imperial Arm?"

"An Imperial Arm? Fraid not", Klaus replied before sheathed his claymore and letting out another hearty laugh and patting Tatsumi on his shoulder. You'll only find those in the Grand Empire or on Budo here."

"Then how did you do that?"

"It's a sword technique of the highest level that very few are able to use, much less master. Your aura must be world-class to pull it off. I wouldn't worry too much about it though. It's not something just anyone can do with enough hard work."

"I would definitely at least like to try."

"That's the spirit, lad!"

Budo cleared his throat as if to draw attention to himself. "We should move on. The longer we dwell out here, the more opportunities assassins might have to come after you."

Tatsumi winced his eyes, immediately remembering why he came to Bestimmung in the first place. " _That's right. I'm here to assassinate the ambassador. I can't lose focus of my goal."_

Chelsea glanced in the brutish general's direction. " _He's a bit too clever for his own good. Just how are we going to separate him from the ambassador long enough for pull this off?"_

"Right you are, Budo!", Klaus said as he got back on his horse. "Lets move out!"

With that, the group began riding through the forest, fully intent upon luring out the beasts responsible for the deaths of the previous patrol units. They surveyed the area much like any patrol unit would, constantly increasing the chances of running into their quarry. They engaged several other types of beasts throughout this process, all class one. Ice-Bears, Ice-Vultures and even Ice-Elks. None proved to be a real challenge though for the likes Tatsumi or Klaus.

They continued this for hours until finally making their way towards another clearing, this time a large lake covered in ice.

Klaus peeled his eyes and looked around this clearing before making an observation. "There doesn't appear to be any other way to gain access to the rest of the forest. We'll have to cross it."

"Are you sure about that?", Tatsumi asked, turning his attention to the ambassador. "How do you know the ice is hard enough to support our weight? We could fall in"

To which the ambassador laughed. "Hey, did you hear that boys? Tatsumi here says we could fall into the lake!"

All of the soldiers joined in on the ambassador's laughter. Chelsea sighed and rubbed her face into her palm before whispering into her companion's ear. "When a lake in Bestimmung is frozen, it's frozen. A lake like this can support the weight of thousands of people easily. That's common knowledge here."

" _Shit."_ Following cue, the Incursio wielder immediately began fake laughing in an effort to cover up his mistake.

"Good one!", Klaus said as he and the soldiers begin crossing the lake.

Sensing no danger in going forward, Tatsumi proceeded to move towards the ice on his horse, preparing to cross it with Chelsea, only for the burly general to acquire his attention. "You. Schlaf Drachen boy."

What is it?", Tatsumi asked, stopping and turning his head towards Budo.

To which the burly general replied, "Your wife isn't suited for this kind of combat."

Chelsea immediately shot Budo a dismissive glare upon hearing those words. "I'm right here you know."

To which Budo scowled his eyes. "And yet your husband doesn't seem to know that. I noticed the weapons you attempted to use on the Ice-wolves earlier. They're not suited for slaying the sort of beasts the ambassador is pursuing. Your husband is a fool to allow you out here in spite of that, but he wouldn't be the first person in this country to pay the price due to his own sense of foolish priorities."

Not wishing to raise any suspicion by picking another argument with the great general, Tatsumi simply smiled. "I'm touched that you're concerned, but Chelsea can handle herself just fine."

"It matters not to me what happens to your wife. I only find it fair to warn you."

Paying no further heed to Budo's warning, Tatsumi focused his attention back on the frozen lake, noticing that Klaus and the rest had already galloped their way to the center. He prepared to begin riding himself. But before his horse could take another step, four gigantic octopus like tentacles plunged themselves out from the ice, each tentacle being as thick as an oak tree and as tall as a ten story building.

Caught off guard by this dilemma, four of the Bestimmung soldiers and their horses were seized by the enormous tentacles and brutally dragged down beneath the ice and into the lake's depths.

Klaus unsheathed his sword and commandingly raised it into the air. "It's a spawn of Cyäegha! Quick, we must get to land!"

Ambassador Hartmann and the seventeen remaining Bestimmung soldiers present each galloped on their horses, racing towards the other side of the lake in an effort to avoid getting dragged down under like the others. But as they rushed to the other side, three additional tentacles plunged themselves into the air and came ramming down alongside the ice the men were running across. An impact which created a sizable hole. Klaus and his men, whose horses were about to run straight into this hole, attempted to come to a stop. Unfortunately, the ice was too slippery, causing six additional horses and soldiers to fall right into the lake.

The ambassador and the other soldiers immediately got off their horses and made the effort to help these men out of the water, only for their efforts to be for naught as another two tentacles shot straight out of the water, wrapping and squeezing themselves around all six of these men and their horses before viciously dragging them down below. The remaining horses on the ice caught sight of this and fearfully ran away in various directions despite the cries of the ten remaining soldiers.

Without even thinking about his mission or the danger he was putting himself in, Tatsumi leaped off his horse and sprinted onto the ice covered lake, wasting no time in joining the battle. Chelsea, on the other hand, remained on the horse, taciturn towards the scene playing out before her.

Budo appeared no different than the auburn haired woman next to him, but did his raise an eyebrow. "Not going to join your husband?"

Her eyes remained fixated on the battle on the lake. "In this case, you're right. I'm not suited for combat here."

"I'm not surprised. Your people's sense of self-preservation is ever so shameless."

Chelsea smirked. "Bold words for someone sitting here while the man he's in charge of protecting is in grave danger."

"Hmph. That man put himself in grave danger by his own foolish pride. He was willing to accept my help only under the condition that I would swear to intervene only if it regarded the assassins I am pursuing."

Thoughts of allowing Klaus to get killed did not even enter Tatsumi's mind as he sprinted onto the ice covered lake, rushing to Ambassador Hartmann's defense.

Klaus caught wind of the assassin's bold attempt at a rescue, seeing him run towards the group out of the corner of his eye. "No boy, it's a spawn of Cyäegha. Stay back!"

But the ambassador's warning fell on deaf ears as Tatsumi continued to run towards the battle. Subsequently, one tentacle popped out from the ice behind the Incursio weilder, hurling itself towards him. He unsheathed Incursio, dexterously spun around and used the momentum of his spin to slice into the monstrous appendage. Though the young man's slash hit dead on, there was no indication of it being effective. It was almost as if the tentacle had absorbed the blow with its rubbery skin, being too resilient for Tatsumi's attack to have any effect. Before he could even wrap his mind around this, the tentacle speedily wrapped itself around him, causing the young man to cough up blood as he felt the life being squeezed out of his body.

"Damnit Tatsumi!", Klaus cried, his claymore unsheathed as he rushed towards him. He inflicted the tentacle wrapped around Tatsumi with multiple deadly strikes, but none of them bore any fruit. Rather, the monstrous appendage remained too resilient. Attacks that had sliced through class one danger beasts like butter were nothing to the mighty beast before him.

With one quick pull, this tentacle submerged Tatsumi down below the icy water just as it had the rest of its prey. The Incursio wielder struggled and struggled to the best of his ability, but the appendage wrapped around him felt immovable. Even worse, he was underwater and could barely hold his breath. At that point, death more or less seemed like a foregone conclusion.

As he looked down to see where he was being dragged, he was startled by the sight of squid like head the size of a small house. It only had one eye, green and glowing. As Tatsumi looked closer, he noticed that it was currently feeding itself the horses that had attempted to run away from it earlier, gnawing and chewing on them in big chunks one by one.

" _No choice"_ , he thought as he watched this nightmarish sight. " _I can only hope no one sees this."_

With but a determined thought and a tighter grip of his short sword, Tatsumi's entire body was suddenly enveloped in an all too familiar set of grey and white full body armor. The squid like beast continued holding Tatsumi in place until it was finished with the horses in its possession. It then stuffed the armored assassin into its beak, releasing him from its tentacle grasp upon doing so.

" _Big mistake",_ Tatsumi thought as the monster prepared to crush and devour him.

The Incursio wielder stood still inside the squid like beasts' mouth, it's beak having coming to a complete halt. Moreover, the tip of his spear, Neuntote, subsequently appeared out from the top of the monster's head.

Back on the frozen lake's surface, the tentacles that had been used seize so many Bestimmung soldiers and horses had suddenly fallen limp, utterly devoid of life and movement. Ambassador Hartmann, the remaining soldiers and even Budo appeared to be astonished by what they were seeing. Moments later, Tatsumi, now covered in blood and guts rather than his full body armor, came to the surface, gasping for air and grabbing onto ice for leverage.

"Help him out!", the ambassador commanded his soldiers.

Budo and Chelsea rode up towards the group on their horses, stopping upon getting within speaking range.

Klaus walked up to apparent hero of the battle, sheathing his claymore while doing so. "How in blazes did you survive?"

"Oh that?", Tatsumi asked, coughing up excess water. "Before it could eat me, I carved up whatever I could of its insides."

"Impressive. Even the strongest warriors don't usually survive an encounter with a spawn of Cyäegha without the right equipment, but you survived and slayed one on your own. And beat it with just a sword"

Tatsumi let out a weak laugh, hoping that no one would realize how you really killed the beast. "It was luck."

"Don't sell yourself short, lad. Running into a supreme-class beast like that out here is the very opposite of luck. Spawn of Cyäeghas are known for dwelling in the sea, rather than in the middle of some frozen lake. It's very odd."

Budo once again cleared his throat as if to gather all of the attention onto himself. "It was an impressive feat, but now's not the time to discuss it. We should proceed on with the expedition."

"But we're down to two horses now and half of our men are dead", Tatsumi interjected. "Won't this expedition take a lot longer now?"

"Which is why we don't have time for idle chitchat", Budo scoffed.

Klaus nodded his head in agreement with the great general. "Budo is correct. Let us proceed forward, but with greater caution. I don't want us to get caught with our guard down again. When it gets dark enough, we'll make camp."

* * *

 **[ _. . . The truth about Ambassador Hartmann . . ._ ]**

* * *

And so the group walked across the frozen lake, now known to have been the home of a powerful danger beast, to the other side of the icy forest. Tatsumi and Chelsea remained on their horse, Budo remained on his horse and everyone else, including Ambassador Hartmann walked alongside them. But without any additional horses, the group could not cover ground as quickly, making progress a slow and tiresome affair.

They went on like this for hours until it was deep in the night. At Klaus' discretion, they decided to stop and make camp. Traveling throughout the night was something every individual present was prepared to do, but perhaps not a risk worth taking if it meant engaging another danger beast like the spawn of Cyäegha they had encountered earlier.

Unfortunately, most of their supplies were destroyed during the battle, forcing all of the Bestimmung soldiers to rest near the campfires they managed to prepare based on what was available in the immediate environment. Budo had brought his own supplies and was thus able to prepare himself a tent, though he was insistent that the ambassador use it in his stead. Chelsea also had enough foresight to bring such supplies, though Tatsumi was the one to set them up.

Upon completion of this task, the female assassin approached her companion with a handwritten list of items on a sheet of paper. "I need each of these within an hour."

He pulled the list out of her hands, scanning over it with his eyes near a lantern. The list gave a physical description of several different kinds of mushrooms "What? An hour? I don't even know where to begin looking."

"That won't be a problem", she replied. "On our way to this camping spot, I noticed each of those within a 500-foot radius."

"You noticed mushrooms out here in this weather?"

Chelsea nodded her head. "Bestimmung's vegetation is a lot more resilient to cold weather than ours is back home."

An annoyed look appeared on Tatsumi's face. "And how is me wondering around the camp like an idiot on a scavenger hunt in the middle of the night not going to look suspicious? For that matter, why didn't you gather these mushrooms yourself?"

To which Chelsea gave yet another of her infamous knowing smirks. "Because you're the kind of idiot who would not think twice about helping his dear sweet wife prepare her famous stew for everyone at the camp! Now chop chop. I expect all of those ingredients back here within the hour."

"Fine", he said, letting out an exasperated sigh. It was obvious he was not going to win this one.

With that, Tatsumi grabbed a lantern and a basket and began what he described as a 'scavenger hunt.' He ran his eyes up and down the list, memorizing the descriptions of the mushrooms listed so that he would better be able to spot them. Sure enough, it didn't take him long to find two of these mushrooms listed. He had been in the process of looking for the third one, only to spot Ambassador Hartmann sitting at his lonesome on a rock at a campfire he made at the edge of camp. The ambassador was drinking directly from a bottle of wine, apparently one General Budo had packed away in his supplies. Tatsumi found this to be a tad bit uncharacteristic, having expected the ambassador to be in his usual jovial spirits. If he were going to drink, it would be in everyone else's company rather than just him on his own.

Seeking further inquiry, Tatsumu approached the ambassador from behind. "Klaus? What are you doing over here?"

To which the ambassador responded, still staring at the fire. "Giving my men their last respects."

"But your men are all fine over there. Why don't you go join them? I'm sure they'd enjoy . . ."

"No", the ambassador interrupted. "I'm talking about the men who lost their lives to that cursed spawn of Cyäegha. They are due their respect. It's the least I can offer them now."

Tatsumi ok a seat on a rock right next to the ambassador. "I didn't know. I'm sorry. These men must have been pretty close to you."

"Not particularly", Klaus said, taking another swig out of the bottle. "I've had thousands of soldiers under my employ over the years and can't honestly remember every single face. But that doesn't mean they are owed any less respect for their courage."

Recalling the play he had watched earlier and Chelsea's explanation in regards to how much the people of this country valued strength, Tatsumi skeptically narrowed his eyes. "But the soldiers here died. Doesn't that mean you think they're 'weak?"

Hearing this question caused Klaus to raise an eyebrow. As if he couldn't believe he had just been asked that question. He promptly took another swig. "Weak? Huh. For dying? You know, when I was your age, I used to go around thinking that. But now? That's the biggest load of horse shit I've ever heard."

That was the last answer Tatsumi expected. He thought for sure he was going to get a survival of the fittest rant as he would expect from Esdeath. But instead, he heard something that . . . he actually agreed with. After watching that play earlier and hearing people cheer on the villainous Erich, he felt disgusted with the people of this country. But something about the ambassador felt . . . different.

Klaus took another swig of wine before setting the bottle down next to his boots and continuing to glare at the fire. "There was a time when I had a son. Headstrong, talented and brave. Didn't give a damn about his position in society or how he compared to others. He simply lived his life the way he wanted to live it. We would attend expeditions like these on a monthly basis."

Hearing this made Tatsumi smile, "Your son sounds like he was a fine man."

"He was. That technique I showed you earlier? You saw what I did to those wolves. My son could've done that to a whale. I know it's not saying much, but he was a far better man than me. In fact, this matter of giving my respects to all of the dead? I was a stubborn bastard back then, but it took me losing him to that vile beast Hastur for me to start doing it."

"Hastur?", Tatsumi, unfamiliar with the name. "I'm sorry, but who is Hastur?"

"You don't know about Hastur? I'm not surprised. Having to admit to the existence of danger beasts too powerful for us to deal with is not something those lecturers at the academy would ever do willingly. It kind of makes their notions of strength and dominance pretty meaningless. What if I told you there were danger beasts out there even more powerful than Ultra-class?"

Tatsumi's eyes widened in shock. "Really?"

To which Klaus chuckled. "I kid you not. Ultra-class beasts may be rare, but there are still about a thousands of them still roaming the planet if I had to give a good estimate. But then there's an even rarer class of beasts referred to as the Omega-class. Based on the stories, there are only 6 of them in existence and no one has ever slain one."

"How do you know they exist?"

"I used to dismiss them as tall tales and nothing more. But on my last expedition with my son, we went out into the Arctic regions. My son was a mercenary by trade and took up a contract requiring him to investigate the disappearance of several Bestimmung trade vessels that had last been seen in that area. Northern Tribe vessels had also been seen in that area around that time, so I accompanied him, believing that it was the work of the Northern tribes causing more needless bloodshed. I was looking forward to paying them back for what they had done to Vater. How foolish I was in thinking it was so simple. We got to a glacier. An irregular one at that. It looked as if someone had carved out much of the insides and developed themselves a cavern. We saw the wreckage of many trade vessels floating around the glacier, thus decided to go inside. We were ready for a battle with Northern Tribesmen, bringing around 600 mercenaries with us, my son and I leading the charge."

"What happened?"

"When we had gotten deep into the cavern, what we found wasn't bastards from the Northern Tribes, but instead a danger beast unlike any I had ever seen. I'll never forget what it looked like. It was a man-like being wearing a tattered yellow cloak, a mask hiding its face and had tentacles for legs. Surrounding it were the ragged remains of human carcasses, all suited in Northern Tribe or Bestimmung memorabilia. My son walked up to it, a sword clenched in his hands, demanding to know if it was responsible. And then . . ."

"And then?"

Klaus immediately covered his face with one hand, doing his best to muffle the sounds of sobbing as well as hide the expression he had manifested all of the sudden.

Tatsumi could not help but feel pity for the ambassador. The last thing he ever expected to see was a man like this reduced to tears.

"I'm sorry Tatsumi. I've endured a lot of things over the years and have brushed with death enough times to be on speaking terms with it, but what happened there is just too painful for me to relive. That demon took my son and he took every other man present. By some miracle, I was the only one to survive."

Tatsumi frowned as he heard this, giving off a look of introspection. "I understand. I've lost people very close to me as well. I try not to dwell on it, but the pain never goes away."

"Then why don't you take this opportunity to give them your last respects?", Klaus replied, wiping his face and handing Tatsumi the wine bottle.

The Night Raid assassin looked at the bottle of wine, hesitated for a few moments, but then grabbed it out from the ambassador's hands and took a swig of it himself, before setting it down and gazing at the fire. He didn't quite understand this ritual, but he nonetheless felt some peace as thoughts of Sayo, Ieyasu, Sheele and Bulat came to mind.

Klaus continued to gaze at the fire. "If there's one thing I know, Tatsumi, it's that my son wasn't weak. Ever. So the idea of death proving your weakness is a load of shit. What matters. . . what truly matters in your life isn't how strong or weak you are, but how you choose to live it."

Hearing this sentiment spoken aloud caught Tatsumi's attention; his eyes widening and his head was yet again flushing with a myriad of thoughts.

"But that's enough serious talk for the night, lad!" Within a flash, the ambassador's usual lively spirit had returned. "Why don't you instead give me some details about your wedding night. She seems quick witted outside the bedroom, but how quick witted is she in the bedroom?"

" _OH SHIT!"_ Tatsumi nervously jumped up from his sitting position and ran away, immediately recalling the reason he had been wandering around the camp in the first place. "Sorry, I've gotta go!"

With that, the Incursio wielder continued his search, desperately looking around the camp for the remaining mushrooms within the hour. It took some effort, but he eventually managed to get a hold of everything on the list. Upon bringing the ingredients back to Chelsea, she immediately got to work. True to her word, the female assassin promptly began preparing a stew, primarily using supplies she just so happened to bring with her, the mushrooms simply being added as if they were seasoning. She then placed it all in a pot and heated it over a fire. Within no time, the stew was ready and everyone in the camp except General Budo, got themselves a bowl. Chelsea grinned from ear to ear at the numerous compliments in regards to her cooking.

After everyone had eaten, most of the soldiers rested near the campfires, agreeing to take shifts for watch duty until the following morning. Budo remained still like a statue, leaning against a tree and resolutely watching the camp, waiting for the first sign of an attack from an assassin. Sensing that all was well, Tatsumi prepared to lie down next to a campfire and get some rests, only to hear his name being called.

"Tatsumi!", Chelsea said, motioning for her companion to follow her into her tent with her finger.

The ambassador and the soldiers laughed at the sight of this, the ambassador even saying "If I didn't know better Tatsumi, I'd say someone was interested in sloppy seconds!"

Chelsea merely rolled her eyes, before grabbing her companion by the arm and pulling him into the tent. "What do you think you're doing? We're supposed to be married."

He looked at his companion with a panicked look on his face. "You mean . . . you really think we need to . . ."

"Stop right there", she interrupted. "If the next words that come out of your mouth are what I think they are, you can rest assured that that stuff about a ribbon tied box is going to come to fruition."

"Okay okay", he said, beads of sweat pouring down his face. "So what is it?"

"We have to sleep in the same tent. That's all."

He looked at her incredulously. "You sure you won't mind? Last night, you wouldn't even consider the idea of me sleeping in the same bed."

"As long as you don't go all Lubbock on me, I'll manage. Remember, ribbon tied box."

"Yeah yeah, I'll remember."

* * *

 **[. . . _Tatsumi's decision_ . . .]**

* * *

It was a chilly night, but bearable for everyone at the camp. Everyone from Bestimmung was well used to the cold and had the aid of multiple campfires. Tatsumi and Chelsea had the comfort of their own tent. The ambassador slept in Budo's tent and Budo stood watch the entire night, a testament to his status as a general of the Grand Empire. Clearly not a title he possessed in name only. The following morning was nonetheless different. The great general found himself sweating profusely as well as within the grasps of sheer nausea. He could barely move.

Klaus helped the burly general to his tent. "Budo, I tried to warn you. Standing outside all night is not something a foreigner should ever consider doing."

"Standing outside all night is nothing to me", said the general as he coughed. "This illness had to come from something else. Assassins I bet."

"You're delirious Budo", Klaus responded. "Had assassins entered the camp, we would've seen it. You would've seen it."

"I intend to get to the bottom of this", said Budo, still coughing.

"Perhaps so, but for now, you need to rest. Stay in the tent and heal up while the rest of us move forward."

"What? Are you insane? If I'm not there, who is going to stop the assassins?"

"We can handle ourselves just fine, Budo. There isn't much else up ahead. As soon as we've finished scouting the area, we'll come back and we can all leave this forest together."

"You're a fool."

"Yes, I'm a fool", Klaus said, letting out another hearty laugh. "But I'm not the fool who let himself get sick."

Eager to finish the expedition, Klaus promptly stepped out of the tent, seeing Tatsumi, Chelsea and the rest upon stepping out. "He should be fine. Despite his sickly appearance, he's as strong as an ox. Still, I'd hate for him to be done in while he's in such a weakened state. Someone should stay behind to keep an eye on him."

Giving off another one of her infamous knowing smirks, Chelsea stepped forward. "I'll do it. If you all come across a beast like the one we ran into yesterday, I won't be of much use anyway. I should be able to handle an assassin or an Ice-wolf though."

Klaus proceeded to climb atop Budo's horse, sensing that the burly general would have any further use for it. "Then it's settled! Chelsea will stay behind and the rest of us will press onwards!"

Playing the part to the fullest, Chelsea then proceeded to run over to her fellow assassin and give him an amorous hug, reminding him of his usual encounters with Esdeath. "Oh Tatsumi! Last night was pure heaven! I can't wait until you get back!"

Much to Tatsumi's embarrassment, Klaus and the Bestimmung soldiers were deeply amused, all laughing out loud. Chelsea nonetheless took the opportunity to lean her head against Tatsumi's and whisper into his ear. "As soon as you get far enough away, kill every one of them. Don't worry. With Budo in his current state, I should have no problem taking care of him."

To which Tatsumi compliantly nodded his head before leaping up on his horse.

"Come on Tatsumi!", jovially said the ambassador "Lets be off!"

With that, they began riding away at a normal pace, Tatsumi and Klaus in front and the soldiers power-walking behind. They traveled for several miles, already being a considerable distance away from the camp.

The Incursio weilder did his best to maintain his composure, but found himself posturing back and forth, glaring at Klaus when he wasn't looking. Chelsea's words repeatedly rang through his head, but he nevertheless felt overwhelmed with hesitation.

The group kept pacing throughout the forest until finally making their way towards a large cave with an equally large entrance. Klaus got off his horse and kneeled down at the entrance. He had immediately noticed signs of a struggle on the inside; it appeared that multiple people had been dragged inside against their will. Further inspection of the sight revealed the tattered remains of various Bestimmung soldier uniforms. "I'd say we've cornered the piece of shit", the ambassador said while unsheathing his claymore.

Tatsumi got off his horse and simply stared at the ground, wondering what to do. " _I could kill them right here. Their guard is wide open. So why . . . why am I hesitating?"_

Oblivious to the younger man's inner conflict, Klaus let out another one of his trademark hearty laughs."This is no time for dawdling, Tatsumi! We've got ourselves a danger beast to kill!"

The group proceeded into the cavern, all the more fortunate that they had stopped for camp during the previous night as navigating through this cave at any time other than the day would've been highly difficult.

While everyone else was ever vigilant, Tatsumi continued to ponder. " _It's not like I haven't killed anyone before. I killed that evil girl Aria, I killed that corrupt guard captain Ogre, I killed that psychopath Nyau and I've killed so many others up to this point. So how is he any different?"_ Getting further lost in thoughts of inner conflict, he recalled his conversation with the ambassador on the previous night. What he said about his son, what he said about strength and how he sobbed. " _He's not evil at all, but no . . . I have to kill him. I have to do it. For the good of the Revolutionary Army. If I kill him, innocents won't get hurt, right? So why . . . why am I still hesitating?"_

As they treaded further and further into this enigmatic hollow, they eventually stopped, gazing in awe at what appeared to be a large and spacious hall. The hall was also well lit, torches lined all along the walls. This area was even eerily clear of stalagmites, but contained a plethora of stalactites on the ceiling. And at the far end of the hall was a sight that instantly made the ambassador's blood boil. A humanoid figure sporting a tattered yellow cloak. It appeared to walking towards a large stone door, shaped and designed much like the doors to a cathedral.

Without sign nor warning, Klaus bolted towards this figure with his sword held out in a blind rage. "HAAAAAAASTURRRRRRR!"

The cloaked figure, however, didn't even seem to acknowledge Ambassador Hartmann's presence. Rather, it merely opened the cathedral like doors and went inside, the interior of wherever it was going being pitch black.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY FROM ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!", the ambassador snarled while clenching the hilt of blade. Perhaps about three hundred feet from where the yellow cloaked figure had been standing, he slashed his claymore in that direction, creating another precise gust of air, much like the one he had launched against the wolves.

Though just as Klaus' air slash reached the yellow cloaked figure, the cathedral like doors had already closed behind it, causing them to be hit instead. The ambassador didn't appear to be deterred, however, running all the way up to the double door and doing everything he could to pry it open. But it was no use, the doors wouldn't budge even an inch. He slammed himself into it, kicked at it and slashed at the door repeatedly with his sword, but nothing appeared to open, much less move or damage them in any way. He then started banging on the door relentlessly. "OPEN UP! OPEN UP RIGHT NOW! OPEN UP RIGHT NOW YOU COWARD! COME OUT AND FACE ME! DO YOU HEAR ME? ARE YOU LISTENING? GIVE ME BACK MY SON! GIVE HIM BACK THIS INSTANT!"

Tatsumi and the Bestimmung soldiers promptly ran to the ambassador's aid.

"Your excellency", said one of the soldiers. "If you'll step to the side, we can open fire on the door."

"Well what are you waiting for?", Klaus responded, immediately moving out of the way. "Do it!"

And so all ten soldiers aimed their hunting rifles at the door and fired upon it. Not once, not twice, not even three times, but a total of two dozen rounds each. But despite their best efforts, the doors wouldn't budge. Even more surprising was that it didn't appear to have sustained any damage whatsoever; there wasn't even a single scratch on them.

Noticing this, Klaus, kicked the door again in frustration. "Damnit."

One of the soldiers spoke up. "With all due respect your excellency, Hastur is just a myth. At the academy, they taught us that . . ."

But the ambassador would here none of it, quickly holding his claymore at the dissenting soldier's neck. "Hastur is not a myth! You just saw him with your own eyes!"

The soldier reached his hands for the sky, not wanting to incur the wrath of his superior. "I meant no disrespect, Ambassador Hartmann."

To which the ambassador responded, nodding and sheathing his claymore back in its scabbard.

"What do we do now, your excellency?", another soldier asked.

"We'll have to postpone this expedition for now and come back with a much larger force as well as a team of engineers. There's got to be some way to open these blasted doors."

At that moment, footsteps could be heard near the entrance to the hall. Not just any footsteps, but footsteps that quite literally shook the ground with every pace. Tatsumi turned his head to see what was approaching the group only to notice a headless humanoid figure 20 feet in height, clad in a massive set of silver plated armor, also holding a massive tree chopping axe.

"A Headless Hunter", said Klaus as he observed this approaching figure. "I'm familiar with this breed. It's a supreme class, but could mature into an ultra class should it live for a few more decades. We'll see to it that it doesn't. Men, stay where you are. Fire when I give you the order."

Tatsumi reluctantly unsheathed his imperial arm, his eyes full of uncertainty. " _No. What am I doing?"_

Without pause, the headless danger beast began to rush towards the group, it's axe held out and its murderous intent clear. The ambassador met the monster head on, swung his blade upwards towards its sides upon getting within striking range. But The Headless Hunter parried Klaus' attack with the handle of its axe, simultaneously kicking the ambassador away into the air as if he were a children's play toy.

Not missing a beat, Tatsumi swiftly appeared next to the headless danger beast, leaping into the air and performing a downward slash. An attack, though powerful, was useless against this supreme class monster's might. It raised its left armor clad fist, blocking Tatsumi's strike entirely. Then, with its right hand, it swiped its axe at the young assassin while he was still airborne.

Sensing that he was about to be cut down, Tatsumi placed his shortsword in a defensive posture to block the incoming assault. And he managed to do just that at the last second; the axe's blade hit nothing but the broad side of Incursio. Even so, there was still a great deal of force behind the danger beast's attack. Just as Tatsumi intercepted the strike with his sword, he was sent flying backward with such force and ferocity to the other side of the hall, his back slamming into cave wall hard enough to develop sizable cracks behind him.

Though the Headless Hunter wasn't finished yet. Holding its axe with both hands, it walked towards a seemingly incapacitated Tatsumi. Klaus managed to regain his footing by this point, having recovered from the danger beast's powerful kick. He looked on with concern as it now ran towards the younger warrior.

But then a shot was fired at the beast from behind. The monster halted in its tracks and turned around. Despite not having a head, it appeared to be able to sense where the gunshot had come from. One of the soldiers had fired upon the Headless Hunter without the ambassador's permission. A move which caused the axe-wielding beast to lose interest in Tatsumi, instead now turning its attention to all ten soldiers.

The beast responded to the attack, now running in the direction of the soldiers. Panicking, all ten of these men began firing at the incoming beasts with their rifles.

A tactic which Klaus clearly didn't approve of. "No! You weren't supposed to fire yet!"

Still running, the supreme-class danger beast raised its axe-wielding hand. With one swift throw, the blade launched out its hand like a boomerang, spinning round and round while heading towards the Bestimmung soldiers. They all immediately ceased firing, instead attempting to move out of the way of the Headless Hunter's attack. But it was all for naught. Despite their efforts to move, the axe was too large, too strong and too fast for them to avoid. Like shooting fish in a barrel, all ten men were cut down within a flash, a fact made ever so obvious as the axe returned to the danger beast's right hand.

Tatsumi, having had the wind knocked out of him, did his best to recover, struggling to regain his footing. Not intent on allowing the young man to live even a minute longer, the axe-wielding monster ran towards him, once again clinging to its axe with both hands.

With no time to waste, Klaus pursued the beast from behind, running towards it with his claymore in an offensive posture. The ambassador had hoped to reach the beast before it could finish off Tatsumi, but despite being a faster sprinter, it become increasingly clear that he would not be able to intercept the Headless Hunter in time.

Still running towards the young Night Raid member, the supreme-class danger beast raised its axe, preparing to finish him off with one swift downward strike. Tatsumi, still reeling from the beasts' earlier attack, all of the sudden noticed the peril he was in and realized it was too late move out of the way. There was only one option remaining. . .

The terrifying might of beast' axe came crashing down. And the ambassador ran as fast as he could, but suddenly came to a screeching halt. What was a look of panic for the Tatsumi's safety became a look of confusion for he had suddenly heard the sound of metal smashing into metal as opposed to the cave wall or even human flesh. What's more, it appeared as if the Headless Hunter was in a bit of a standoff with something . . . or rather someone.

Klaus walked closer, only to see that the person clashing with the beast was doing so with the shaft of his spear and was also wearing grey and white full body armor. "Tatsumi . . . is that you?"

"Kind of busy right now!", the younger warrior responded, his voice full of strain.

"Is that . . . an imperial arm?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm sure you have your reasons", Klaus said before letting out another of his trademark hearty laughs. "We'll talk about it over drinks later. First, lets finish off this son of a bitch."

With one quick upper thrust of his claymore, Klaus stabbed the Headless Hunter clean through its right shoulder, causing the monster to let out a loud and pain filled roar despite having no head. It stepped out of its clash with the young Night Raid assassin, once again focusing its attention on the ambassador.

An opportunity which Tatsumi had no plans of passing up as he now thrusted his spear towards its chest, intending to finish the beast off in one blow. To his surprise, however, although his attack landed, it could not pierce the axe-wielding beast's breastplate."

It did, however, cause the beast to once again retaliate by taking a swipe at the Incursio weilder. Tatsumi effortlessly avoided the attack, leaping out of the way in the nick of time and regrouping with the ambassador.

Klaus found this to be amusing. "You don't have much experience against heavily armored opponent's, do you Tatsumi?"

"Not exactly."

He looked at the Night-Raid member with a knowing smile. "Well, the trick to fighting them is to focus on their chinks."

"Their chinks?"

"Aye lad. Even the strongest of us have chinks in our armor just waiting to be discovered. This beast is no exception. Follow my lead."

Klaus and Tatsumi ran towards the Headless Hunter in unison, Klaus at its right, Tatsumi at its left. Klaus yet again thrusted his claymore up towards the beast's right shoulder, evidently the location of one of the Hunter's chinks. The beast, however, appeared to be prepared this time, raising its axe to block the ambassador's weapon.

Subsequently, Tatsumi sliced his spear through the beast's right shoulder, Klaus' movements having clearly been designed to set up this opportunity. Unlike Klaus though, Tatsumi was using an Imperial Arm. Thus, with Tatsumi's attack, he managed to cleave the Headless Hunter's right arm clean off. The beast could yet again be heard roaring out in pain and purple blood could be seen pouring out from where its arm had previously been located.

Tatsumi capitalized on this, now focusing his attention on the beast's left arm, certain that a chink was present in this location. The Headless Hunter didn't appear to be willing to go down without a fight, however. It clenched its left fist and hurled it at its tenacious adversary. An attack which might've proved threatening earlier in the battle, but not with Tatsumi wearing his Incursio armor.

At the very moment Tatsumi dodged, Klaus leaped into the air, landing atop the headless danger beast. Then, using both hands, he thrusted into the Headless Hunter's open wound, pushing and wedging his sword until it had reached the beast's chest cavity. This attack made the beast roar loud enough to be heard throughout the entire cave and perhaps in the immediate area outside.

Sensing that the battle had reached its conclusion, Klaus jumped off the the Headless Hunter and watched as it fell to its knees and did its best to remove the weapon that had been lodged into it. As the beast removed the sword lodged within it, even more blood, gallons and gallons in quantity, begin pouring out from its insides. With one final roar of pain and agony, the Headless Hunter fell facedown and lied on the ground motionless, presumably slain.

Klaus watched the sight in a relaxed state, smiling and finally taking the time to catch his breath. He basked at the sight, knowing a job well done when he saw one and smiled as heard the Incursio weilder approaching him. "For the life of me, it's been ages since I've had to fight like that. Not since my days with Vater. Do me a favor Tatsumi: Never get old."

In what would've been the end to a chapter in any other heroes' story, perhaps there would be cause for celebration. But alas, the very next moment proved this not to be such a chapter. Suddenly, the ambassador's eyes widened, his face grew pale and he looked down towards his upper body, feeling a sudden burning sensation. As his eyes wandered, he could not believe what he was seeing. The tip of Neuntone's blade was protruding out from within his chest.

Ambassador Hartmann turned his head, refusing to believe what appeared to be occurring. But there it was; there was the undeniable truth. Out from the corner of his eye, he saw Tatsumi, still clad in his full body armor, behind him and holding his spear as blood trickled down the shaft.

His death now certain, Klaus' eyes started to dim, both from the mortal wound he had been inflicted and in coming to terms with the reality that had just occurred. Slowly, the light in his eyes began to vanish and so too did his eyelids begin to peel.

With his mission complete, the Night Raid assassin removed his spear from his target's back as he fell down on his face, his body noticeably limp. Whatever feelings Tatsumi had about this, there was no way to discern them for his full body armor covered everything, including his face. Tatsumi did not utter word or even sound. There was no telling what was currently going on in his head. One thing was clear though. By his own free will, he chose to murder the now late Ambassador Hartmann.

* * *

 **[. . . _Unfinished business_ . . .]**

* * *

Tatsumi stood there in silence for moments, only to hear footsteps near the entrance of the cavern hall. This time, the footsteps of something or someone the size of a human. The young man turned his head to gaze upon whatever or whomever was approaching, only to gasp.

It was the great general Budo with a chained up Chelsea slung over one of his shoulders. The burly general glanced around room, noticing the dead soldiers near the large cathedral-like doors as well as the slain supreme class danger beast lying on the floor. Lastly, he noticed a lifeless Ambassador Hartmann lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood while the wielder of Incursio stood next to his body, blood still dripping off his spear.

Having put two and two together, the burly general glared at the assassin in his midst. "So the rumors are true after all and the Hundred Man Slayer is no longer the one wearing that armor. Does that mean he is dead?"

Tatsumi returned the general's glare, but remained silent, more focused on Chelsea.

Budo continued to speak. "To think Ambassador Hartmann's death could've easily been avoided. I had warned that fool not to go on ahead without me, but he insisted on being stubborn, getting himself killed in the process."

"You no longer seem to be sick."

"Hmmph. In fairness, it wasn't a bad plan. Having your accomplice subtly poison every single person in the camp with undetectable fumes and then use the stew she prepared as an antidote. Suspecting that I'd be too cautious to eat the stew myself, she was assured that I'd be the only one too debilitated to continue on with the expedition, leaving her so-called husband the opportunity to assassinate the ambassador while she assassinates me. Like I said, not a bad plan. Your mistake was thinking a general of the Grand Empire could be done in so easily."

Having said that, Budo began to set the female assassin down on the ground next to him. At the very moment he took his eyes off of Tatsumi, however, the Incursio wielder bursted towards Budo like a bolt of lightning, thrusting his spear in one sharp and fluid movement, fully intent on ramming it blade through the general's head.

But, to Tatsumi's surprise, the tip of the spear came to a sudden halt upon getting within an inch of Budo's face. Tatsumi was stunned to see that his opponent had caught the end of his spear's shaft with his armored left hand while still having his eyes focused on setting Chelsea down. "Unfortunately for you, they don't let just anyone become a general of the Empire, kid."

He shifted his eyes back to Tatsumi. Still holding the shaft with his left hand, he balled up his right fist, clenched it as tight as he could and fired it off with the force of a torpedo straight into Tatsumi's armored face; the general's fist practically being buried into the boy's left cheek upon impact.

Like a missile, Tatsumi was almost instantly flung across the hall, smashing clean through multiple layers of cave wall on the other side upon impact. Despite wearing superhuman full body armor, Tatsumi could still feel ripples of agonizing pain throughout his body. Even worse, he felt the overwhelming urge to pass out. " _Never been hit that hard before."_

Still holding the Incursio wielder's spear, the burly general tossed it to the ground, more interested in the newly created hole on the other side of the room. He walked towards it, leaving Chelsea on the floor unmolested.

Having struggled to get back on his feet, Tatsumi emerged from the wall he had been smashed into, wobbling on his feet as he trudged out.

As he continued walking towards his adversary, Budo didn't appear even remotely astounded by his resilience. "I would expect nothing less from someone capable of wielding that armor."

Sensing the gravity of his situation, Tatsumi gazed upon the approaching general and weighed his options. " _Okay Tatsumi. You're up against someone with the same rank as Esdeath. Just one of his punches nearly knocked you out just now. Fighting him is a horrible idea and you should focus on running away, but . . ."_ He glanced at the other end of the cavern, seeing his companion chained up and unconscious. " _You don't have any other option."_

Showing no hesitation, Tatsumi sprang towards the great general, firing off a ferocious flurry of punches and kicks, showcasing a level of skill that gave even Budo pause, if only for a brief instant as he blocked and dodged accordingly. " _His fighting style . . . probably on par with a 10_ _th_ _level member of the Imperial Fist. He's good, however . . ."_

As Tatsumi was in the middle of throwing another kick, this one aimed at the burly general's head, Budo bobbed his head back to avoid the blow, simultaneously catching the assassin's foot with his left hand.

"Not good enough!", Budo yelled before twirling around in a 360-degree arc and pitching the armor clad Night Raid member away, clearly intent on smashing him through another wall.

This time, however, Tatsumi rapidly decreased his momentum by rolling in the air, absorbing all of the remaining impact with his feet as he hit the wall. Though within a short instant afterwards, he leaped off the wall, soaring back towards Budo at breakneck speed. Hurled in mid air, Tatsumi threw another punch as he flew towards the great general, but the general readily avoided the blow by stepping to the side and raising up his right knee. A move which caused Tatsumi to suddenly feel a painful jolt in his stomach.

"Not good enough!", the general yelled once more, this time following up by elbowing his adversary in the back of his armored head, causing his face to smash into the ground.

Tatsumi felt his body trying to black out again; he felt his consciousness slipping. But even still, what his body did not understand, his mind was fully wrapped around. Giving up was not an option here.

Budo watched with increased interest as his opponent once again struggled to get back on his feet. Finishing off this assassin while he was down would be child's play, yet there was some part of the general that was fascinated. There weren't many alive who could continue to get up after several of his attacks and yet here this young man was repeatedly doing just that. The great general found himself wondering whether it was the armor that was making this boy so resilient or if there were something more to him entirely.

"Tell me, Schlaf Drachen . . . if that even is your real name, were you sincere in your beliefs about the Grand Empire the other night? Or was that all part of your deception?"

"I meant every word!", Tatsumi responded, finally having regained his footing.

"That's too bad. Were you a mere sell-sword, I would've taken you back to the Empire. With some psychological reconditioning administered by General Esdeath, I could turn you into a deadly weapon unlike any ever seen. But . . . if you're truly committed to revolting against the country I'm sworn to protect, then your sin is one I won't forgive. I will send you to hell where you belong."

As he uttered those last words, Budo clenched his hands once again and threw another punch with his right fist. Still reeling from the previous attacks, Tatsumi covered himself up in a cross-blocking posture, hoping to at least lessen the damage he was about to receive.

But before Budo's fist could reach its destination, the Incursio wielder's trusty spear, Neuntote appeared to be hurling within the vicinity, well on the path to hitting the back of Budo's neck. True to his rank, however, the great general instantly stopped in his tracks, clearly aware of what was occurring. He slipped his head to the side, dodging the spear with ease.

Tatsumi quickly caught his weapon from the air, simultaneously twirling it around much like Bulat would often do at the start of a battle before getting into a battle stance.

"I see", Budo remarked, still having his eyes set on his Tatsumi while clearly acknowledging someone else in the hall. "I can only assume you were only pretending to still be unconscious in order to seize an opportunity like this."

Tatsumi suddenly glanced in the direction his spear had been hurled on, only to see his comrade on her feet near where Budo had left her and no longer in chains. "Chelsea! How did you break free?"

"With my imperial arm, I can get out of just about any tight situation."

"That's a relief", Tatsumi replied.

"Listen Tatsumi, I'm going to need you to run away. Use that weapon of yours to defend yourself if you must, but you have to get out of here. As far as we're concerned, the mission is already complete."

"I would, but in case you haven't noticed, this guy is pretty tough and a lot faster than he looks. There's no way the both of us will get away."

Chelsea gave off another one of her trademark smirks. "Who said anything about the both of us getting away? I'll stay here and hold him off. You run and get as far away as you can."

"What? Are you insane? He'll kill you in a heartbeat."

"If he wanted to do that, he would've done it already. Instead, he wants to take me back to the capital and have me probed for information. It didn't take him long to realize he had captured the most high profile assassin in the Grand Empire."

"Hmmph. She's correct", Budo acknowledged. "Your best bet is try and leave her behind, although there's no guarantee I won't catch you regardless. This Chelsea, as you call her, has been on the Imperial Department of Investigation's most wanted list for ten years now. I was not aware she was using an imperial arm, but it explains how she can conduct so many assassination and reconnaissance missions without ever being traced or identified. The information she's collected over the years is sure to be invaluable. But rest assured, once we've ripped out every piece of useful data from her mind, I'll eliminate her myself. There is no forgiving you rebel scum."

"No, that's not going to happen", Tatsumi retorted, gripping the shaft to his spear ever tighter.

"This is no time to be stubborn, Tatsumi!", Chelsea yelled in frustration. "In case you haven't noticed, this man is a general of the empire. He is amongst the strongest they have. You don't stand a chance. This is the only way one of us will survive!"

"No, we will both survive!", he said before launching a flurry of thrusts with his spear, each aimed at Budo's head.

As usual, the great general displayed very little effort dodging the Incursio wielder's attacks. " _How many times must I remind this brat."_ With the utmost clairvoyance, he predicted the very next place the spear would be, subtly moving his left hand into a position to catch it like before. "Not good enough!"

Budo swiftly reached to grabbed the shaft of his adversary's weapon. But his eyes widened at the very next instant as what he snatched away wasn't the handle of a spear, but pure air. Tatsumi stopped his last thrust mid-motion, banking on an opportunity like the one his opponent had unwittingly presented him; he immediately thrusted his spear again, intent on running his spear clean through the great general's head.

A move, which though unexpected, wasn't one Budo could not avoid. The general yet again swiftly avoided death by weaving his head to the side, though this time by an explicitly narrower margin. He gritted his teeth and returned fire with another swift and powerful straight right punch.

With equal speed and dexterity, Tatsumi intercepted the blow by holding out the shaft of his spear with both of his hands. This made the young assassin stagger back a few feet, but was definitely a step up from getting smashed through another wall. He readied himself, expecting Budo to continue attacking him, but was instead surprised to see the great general having yet to make another move.

Budo appeared to be examining a sliver of blood on his left hand. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that that last thrust with the spear had grazed his cheek, ever so slightly. A small cut could be seen on the general's neck. "Congratulations, brat. You've succeeded in pissing me off."

Chelsea, who had been watching the battle rather closely up until this point, looked on in disbelief. No more than a minute ago, it was readily apparent that her fellow Night Raid assassin was utterly no match for Budo. Giving the matter a little more thought, however, she immediately recalled the last conversation they had with one another in the hotel. Specifically, his words " _You watch my back and I'll watch yours. That way, we'll see to it that neither of us dies_."

At that moment, the ground around the great general began shaking. "Just for that, I'll start taking you seriously." Rocks, dirt and black dust began firing straight out of the ground, heaping streams of it all gravitating towards Budo, covering him from head to toe. This process drastically altered the general's appearance, donning him in some strange black rock like armor, even giving him a black rock like mask for his face that covered everything but his eyes.

Tatsumi remained in a combat stance, mentally readying himself for anything. "I take it this is your Imperial Arm."

"It is called Ourea", Budo responded, manifesting a black rock-like mace in his hand at least two feet in length. "I don't think I need to explain to you what it does."

" _Can't be reckless. The last time I rushed in blindly, he nearly punched my head off."_

The great general adopted a combat posture with his mace. "It's unwise to be too hasty against an opponent you know nothing about, but the same can be said about hesitation!" He immediately charged towards his adversary like a raging bull. But Tatsumi stood firm, hoping to counter the burly general's assault.

Holding the mace in his right hand, Budo swung down towards Tatsumi's head. An attack which the Incursio weilder quickly and barely blocked with the shaft of his spear, using both of his hands to do it.

" _Shit",_ Tatsumi thought, realizing that he had made a mistake. Just as he had blocked his opponent's mace, Budo fired off his left hand, nailing the assassin with a clean left hook.

An attack which made the coffee-haired assassin brain rattle, staggering him to the side a bit despite having braced himself for the punch at the last second. The great general simultaneously followed up by viciously swinging his mace towards Tatsumi's left rib cage, causing the boy the cough up blood within his helmet immediately afterwards. Budo then threw another left punch, this time a straight.

With a great deal of strenuous effort, Tatsumi ducked the blow, using all of his might and consecutively thrusted his spear straight towards the general's chest. Beneath his rock-like helmet however, Budo smirked.

The spear hit his chest head on, but to Tatsumi and Chelsea's surprise, did nothing more than leave a scratch. A fact which Tatsumi was not presented with the luxury of pondering over as the the burly general then promptly hit his befuddled adversary with a front kick, knocking him back and hurling him multiple yards away.

Using his spear as support, Tatsumi painstakingly climbed back up to his feet, only to notice an excruciating sensation on his side. This prompted him to look down to his left rib cage. To his dismay, his armor there was cracked.

"The demon armor Incursio is said to be nearly indestructible", said Budo as he gazed upon his disoriented foe. "But like any other imperial arm, it's made out of orichalchum, the hardest metal in the world. I've synthesized every trace of the substance throughout the forest to forge orichalchum armor of far greater concentration. You have no chance of damaging it."

" _Gotta ignore the pain. Gotta calm down. Focus. Focus just like you did against that pirate"_ , Tatsumi thought, taking a deep breath and exhaling. " _Every set of armor has a chink, right? Just need to find out what his is."_

Budo raised an eyebrow, curious about his opponent's demeanor. " _Interesting. He's no longer wobbling._ "

Both warriors clinging to the respective weapons in their hands, they suddenly dashed towards one another. Upon getting within sufficient range of the general, Tatsumi promptly fired off a wide assortment of thrusts and swipes, all aimed at different points of the body. However, each hit did nothing more than scratch the older man's armor.

Amidst this series of attacks, the great general maneuvered himself forward, using his mace to take a sideways swing towards Tatsumi's head. To which the Night Raid assassin responded to by swiftly stepping backward, avoiding the attack and simultaneously swiping his spear downwards towards Budo's left collarbone.

Rather than allow this swing to land like all the others, Budo quickly moved out of the way. A course of action which instantly caught Tatsumi's eyes. " _There! That's gotta be where the chink is! I can do this. I CAN do this!"_

Budo continued to swing at his opponent with a series of vicious strikes from his rock-like mace, left and right, but Tatsumi started to duck and dodge each maneuver, suddenly finding himself feeling more confident. Before Budo could swing his mace again, Tatsumi backflipped high into the air, landing several yards away from where his opponent was standing.

The burly general charged towards his adversary like a raging bull, but the Incursio weilder was unusually calm, narrowing his eyes as the general got within close proximity to him. " _One-handed thrust."_

Amazingly, Budo did just this upon getting in range, thrusting his mace towards the young man's head. A move which Tatsumi responded to by dexterously swaying his head of the way. " _Next. A follow-up side-swipe aimed at the head."_

Once again, Budo did exactly as the assassin predicted. A move which he avoided by swiftly ducking down into a semi-crouching position. " _Then a straight vertical swing down."_

Like clockwork, the great general immediately swung his mace down towards his young foe. " _And here, I break his stance!"_

In an incredible display of skill, Tatsumi parried Budo's strike with the tip end of his spear's shaft, effectively knocking the general's hand out of attack position. Fueled by the momentum from his own parry, Tatsumi subsequently swung his spear downward, once again fully intent on hitting his opponent's left collar bone.

However, the strangest thing occurred before the battle could go any further. Just as it looked like Tatsumi's attack was about to land, everything went black. What happened came so quickly and unexpectedly, that the young man did not know nor comprehend what happened. Chelsea, on the hand, being an observer of the battle, understood perfectly as she looked on in horror. At the last moment, Budo had manifested a second mace in his left hand and ambidextrously smashed it into Tatsumi's armored head. With that attack, Tatsumi fell on his back a few feet away from where he had been struck down. He was clearly not moving. Not even an inch.

Chelsea feared the worst. No longer able to sit by and watch any longer, she ran up to her companion, noticeably worried and fearful for his safety. She crouched down next to him, quickly noticing a sizable hole in the boy's helmet; half of his face could be seen. Blood was also flowing out from the temple region on his head "Tatsumi! Tatsumi!" she cried.

"It's pointless", Budo remarked before making his rock armor disperse. "If he isn't dead already, he'll be dead within the minute."

Tatsumi lied there motionless, defeated and perhaps . . .dead. Chelsea shook him left and right as tears flowed out of her eyes, but it was to no avail. "No, I can't! I can't . . . lose you as well. I won't. You have to get up. Please!"

"Didn't you hear me?", the general asked, expectedly stern and unsympathetic. "I told you it's useless. He's finished. And so are you."

Not wishing to waste any more time, Budo then gestured his left hand in a squeezing motion. Rock and soil flew out the ground around Chelsea, subsequently taking on the form of a mound of hard clay. The clay covered the female's assassin's entire body, save for her head. She found herself unable to move even a muscle. To her misfortunate, the clay mound also began to levitate into the air.

"That should hold you for now" Budo said before he turned around and began walking towards the rooms exit, the mound of clay hovering through the air and following him despite Chelsea's best efforts to break free. "Once I've found a more efficient means of keeping you restrained, I'll come back to retrieve the demon armor."

Struggle as she might, her efforts appeared to be hopeless. Regardless of what she wanted, the reality of the situation was one she could not ignore. She couldn't break free. She failed to keep her promise to watch her friend's back. Worst of all, her friend, if he wasn't dead already, was likely to die within the minute. " _Tatsumi . . . please forgive me."_

* * *

 **[ _. . . The end? . . ._ ]**

* * *

Still laying on his back, Tatsumi finally managed to open his eyes. But when he opened them, he was shocked to see that his fully body armor was missing and that he was no longer lying on the cave floor. Rather, he was lying on the ground within Night Raid's base. The old one to be precise; the one the group resided at prior to Dr. Stylish discovering it. Realizing his location, he promptly sat up and looked around, gazing in disbelief.

Nearby was the sound of someone exercising in the base's outdoor training area. This prompted the Night Raid assassin to rise to his feet and head to this location.

Upon seeing the person who was exercising, Tatsumi's mouth dropped, his face looking as if he had seen a ghost. And perhaps it was a ghost. For what he saw was the late Bulat in the middle of his shirtless morning routine; he was swinging around his wooden training spear, his movements both graceful and impeccable as always.

"Bro, is that you?"

Bulat immediately ceased his movements, instead opting to shift his attention to Tatsumi. "In the flesh."

"But . . . you're dead. Does that mean I'm dead as well?"

"Only one way to find out." The shirtless muscular assassin dropped his training spear and speedily and nostalgically punched Tatsumi in the face, causing him to stagger back a bit.

"What was that for?", the boy growled, rubbing the cheek that had been hit.

Bulat rubbed his chin, pondering on the results of his experiment. "Hmm, I guess you're not dead."

"Did you really need to hit me to find that out?!"

"Well if you want, we can also try that method Esdeath used", Bulat responded, giving a flirtatious wink.

"Um . . . no thanks. Hey wait a minute, how did you even know about that?"

Bulat suddenly took on a more serious demeanor. "Because this is all in your head and you're not dead . . . yet."

Tatsumi's eyes widened. "That's right. I was in a battle with General Budo and . . ."

"He knocked you on your ass with something you didn't see coming, right?"

"Yeah."

"You need to always remain aware of your surroundings. I've told you this before. If you can't even do that, you'll never beat Budo."

Tatsumi frowned upon hearing this. "Sorry bro, but I've tried everything I can. He's just too strong for-"

But Bulat wouldn't let his comrade utter another word, instead threateningly grabbing him by his collar and narrowing his eyes. "And you're not strong?! Don't give me that crap. I didn't leave Incursio to a wimp. If you're having doubts now, you can just forget about that promise you made to Chelsea."

"Chelsea", Tatsumi pronounced, his eyes signifying realization.

"You don't get the luxury of wallowing in self-doubt. Not now. This isn't just about you. If you don't do something, Budo is going to drag that girl back to the Capital, he's going to have her tortured for who knows how long and then he's going to kill her. You weren't able to save Ieyasu nor were you able to save Sayo. Is Chelsea just going to become someone else you couldn't save?! Is that it?!"

"No!"

"Then say it already."

"I will save her."

"Say it louder!"

"I will save her!"

"Say it with all of your heart and soul!"

"I WILL SAVE HER!

"Let your soul rage and roar!"

"I WILL SAVE HEEEEERRRRRRR!"

* * *

 **[. . . _Yamato Damashi_ . . .]**

* * *

Not much time had passed since the great general's apparent victory. Perhaps half a minute at most. He was just about to make his way out of the cave hall, only to be interrupted by a sound most peculiar. It was the sound a full grown dragon roaring. A sound which instantly caused Budo to stop dead in his tracks. Not only could the roar be heard throughout the entire cave, but a mighty gust of wind could be felt flowing throughout it as well.

With what little room she could muster, Chelsea turned her head, noticing something out of the corner of her eye. Something that instantly made her smile brighter than she had ever smiled before. So much so that she began to display tears of joy.

Budo openly gritted his teeth, visibly annoyed by what he suspected to be the cause of this uncanny prospect. He turned around just as soon as the wind and roaring came to a halt, his suspicions confirmed.

Tatsumi was in the exact spot he had previously been lying down at it, only now he was standing upright and wide awake, still in his Incursio armor and the shaft of his spear held ever tightly in his right hand. The right half of his face could still be seen due to the damage Budo inflicted. But his right eye glowed red and his right pupil was black and cross shaped. The eye-lenses on his left eye was still present, but it too glowed red and the pupil on that side presumably underwent the same metamorphosis.

It wasn't clear to Budo what had just happened nor how his adversary was still standing. But one thing was clear to him. Their fight was far from over.

* * *

 **A/N:** Yep, like I said, long long chapter! But one step closer to eventually finishing this story. Sorry if I was a little skimpy on describing the dance scenes. I've never actually done any dancing , thus that was a little difficult for me to do. Also, although I've expanded the AKG lore a bit, for the purposes of this fic, I'm not deviating from the anime's plot. I will however throw in enough to leave room for a sequal should I ever get to it!

Easter egg time! Part of one of the fight scenes is a bit like one of the fight scenes from _Rurouni Kenshin_ whereas the dance scene is similar to one of the scenes from _Frasier._ Bonus points to anyone who knows what I'm talking about!

Thoughts? Hate it? Love it? Meh? Feel free to favorite, follow or leave a review! Lemme know what you think of this fifth chapter in this _Down a different branch_ AKG installment. Till next time! :D


	7. Kill the General

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Yosh! We've reached yet another chapter in the _Down a Different Branch_ installment, and rather early at that! Probably would've been longer like last time, but I not only had a lot of fun writing this chapter, but decided to depart from my usual writing standards. Initially, I had intended for this and the next chapter to be one chapter. But as I was typing it, I realized that it was going to be yet another 20,000+ word chapter. Thus, I decided to split them up. I'm just about done with the next chapter, so hopefully that'll be out by next week, easily meeting my January fanfic quota! Before we get started, just a few housekeeping matters to address:

#1. As always, thanks for the follows, favorites and reviews folks! I could've easily made this a Tatsumi x Chelsea fic, but Esdeath is numero uno in my eyes, so that's not gonna happen! Nonetheless, I hope to give Chelsea more emphasis than she received in the original story.

#2. Speaking of the original story, I read the latest chapter of Akame Ga Kill. Seems Wave and Kurome have finally tied the knot so to speak. It was a cute moment in my opinion, but way too anticlimactic and too convenient of a solution (oh hey, we're just gonna defect from the Empire!). I expect the same for the final battle with Esdeath as well as this subplot with Tatsumi slowly turning into a dragon (oh hey there, looks like I don't have to become a dragon because I've suddenly figured out a way to stop that from happening that has in no way been alluded to up until this point, so say goodbye to any tension previously established with this subplot!).

Moreover, it cheapens Akame's personal arc with her sister significantly. I've never really understood the motivation behind the Akame and Kurome's conflict. In the latest chapter, Kurome more or less says that it's because she doesn't want the deaths of her previous comrades to be in vain, but it's just a weak motivation to want to go as far as killing her own sister, who she loves more than anyone else in the world. Same goes for Akame wanting to kill Kurome more than anyone else. I don't buy it and the author never gave us a solid reason for this desire.

Wave getting Run's imperial armor was an interesting twist, but ultimately pointless and didn't go anywhere. All he did was get like a 5 second skirmish with Tatsumi and then he was done.I also cringed a bit in a previous chapter when Esdeath was talking about the upcoming battles she was looking forward. I notice she mentions Akame's name before Tatsumi's. Wish the author knew who the main character was. *sigh*

Honestly, I think the author is just getting tired of this series and is going out of his way to tie up all loose ends. I'd probably do the same if I were him.

Anywho, enough ranting! On with the chapter!

* * *

 _ **Updated 1/18/17 - Fixed prose and grammatical errors.**_

* * *

 _ **Episode 20: Kill the General**_

Four years ago, long before Tatsumi had ever stepped foot in the Grand Empire's capital, Budo had stood patiently on the grounds near Mt. Fake, as if he were waiting for someone. It was the crack of dawn and there was not a single other person in sight. That is until Esdeath stepped foot onto the scene.

"Good morning, old man", said the Ice Queen, the mock politeness in her voice ever clear.

Budo turned his attention to the woman, acknowledging her presence with a scowl. "Pity that our country has been reduced to such a low that someone would actually make you a general."

To which Esdeath smirked. "What can I say? The prime minister appears to have an eye for quality. Fortunately for you, so do I or else I'd never even consider wasting my time on something like this."

"For the most part, this is a waste of time. Right now, I could be teaching real soldiers. Soldiers actually dedicated to protecting our country. Not glory-seeking brats who are in desperate need of a comeuppance."

She laughed before unsheathing her rapier and pointing it at the burly general. "Teaching? Is that what you think you're about to do?"

He cracked his knuckles. "Challenging me to a duel was a foolish decision. One I'll make certain you learn the consequences of."

Hearing such a proclamation excited Esdeath to no end, the look on her face filled to the brim with a lust for battle.

* * *

 **[. . . _Is that . . . Tatsumi?_ . . .]**

* * *

In the present, Tatsumi stood firm at the center of the cavern hall, resolutely glaring at Budo with his luminescent crimson eyes. A sight which the great general was a bit taken aback by. The demeanor this assassin was displaying was what could only be described as . . . otherworldly. Just looking at him felt like looking at a ravenous ultra-class danger beast. " _No, that last attack should've killed him. Perhaps I underestimated him, but it's too unlikely for him to have much fight left."_

Without letting another moment pass, Budo ran towards his adversary yet again, his right fist clenched as tight as he could manage. " _I'll finish you right here."_ He swarmed in on the Incursio weilder, preparing to deliver the coup de grace. But just before the great general got within striking range, his eyes widened upon realization of something, causing him to quickly leap back and away from his younger adversary.

Tatsumi remained still and composed, glaring at his opponent with his otherworldly eyes, not having yet made a single move. "What's wrong?", he asked, his voice ever so calm, direct and certain.

A slight bead of sweat rolled down the general's head as he stood back and observed his red eyed adversary standing there so boldly. " _Had I attacked him just now, he would've surely run me through. In that case . . ._ " Without delay, he once again manifested his black rock like armor as well as a rock-like mace in both hands.

Tatsumi began to walk towards his opponent, still calm and still certain. The look he had in his eyes. It was almost as if he felt the outcome of the battle was a foregone conclusion. Nothing like the way he was behaving before. Not remotely similar. Budo merely stood his ground, preferring that his adversary make the first move so that he could gain a better grasp of whatever new abilities the younger warrior had acquired. And as Tatsumi got closer, the great general clenched his maces ever tighter, preparing to counter-attack at any moment.

But that moment never came, much to the general's surprise. For rather than engage Budo, Tatsumi simply walked right past him, instead opting to walk towards Chelsea, who was still bound in the general's geokinetically controlled clay mound.

With but one quick one-handed swipe from his spear, the clay mound crumbled in half and Chelsea was free from its restraints without a scratch on her. She rose to her feet and dusted herself off. She then looked into her companion's eyes, somewhat startled by them. "What happened to you?"

A question the Incursio wielder didn't answer, instead back around to face Budo. "Stay back for now. This won't take long."

Chelsea immediately felt herself wanting to speak up. To express her skepticism towards her companion's sentiment and how it was unwise to take a general of the Grand Empire so lightly. But for some reason she couldn't explain, she found herself unable to mouth any words. This Tatsumi was so much different from the one she had come to know. She had not yet even witnessed him fight yet, but there was some small part of her that felt he could accomplish anything his heart desired. She thus instead merely stood there, watching her fellow assassin's back as he calmly treaded back towards Budo.

The burly general narrowed his eyes at his approaching adversary. " _His aura . . . it's on a completely different level now."_

As soon as Tatsumi was within a few yards of Budo, he stopped and slipped into an appropriate one-handed combat stance, twirling his spear around before holding it in a direction where the tip of blade faced its target. And Budo suit, adopting a stance appropriate for dual-wielding maces. They then stood there in silence, perhaps a full minute having passed as they both remained in their respective positions without budging an inch.

"It's unwise to be too hasty against an opponent you know nothing about, but the same can be said about hesitation, right?", Tatsumi said, referencing the comment Budo had made earlier.

"Hmph. Cheeky brat"

The two continued standing there for another thirty seconds. Then, just as a single drop of water dripped from one of the stalactites on ceiling, Tatsumi commenced a one-handed thrusted towards Budo's head. A move which the general responded to by parrying the thrust with the mace in his left hand and counter-attacking with a downward swipe from the mace in his right.

Tatsumi's response was swift; he deflected the general's attack with the bottom half of his spear's shaft. Then, in one fluid motion, he swiftly tumbled over the older warrior's head, slicing at his collarbone while in mid-air.

"Not good enough . . ." Budo yelled, interrupted by a burning whip-like sensation in his back. He immediately turned around, only to see Tatsumi standing there with a small trickle of blood on the tip of his spear. The Night Raid assassin had apparently slashed him across the back before landing on the ground behind him. A realization that made Budo leap backward several feet, only to then rub one of his hands around his back to get a sense of how deep the cut was.

"Just as I thought", Tatsumi noted, imperturbably observing his opponent. "It doesn't really make sense for the chink in your armor to be in one specific place when you have such control over earth. You were able to create your second mace on the fly, so why wouldn't you be able to strengthen your defenses around your collarbone? But then that raises a question. Why should you even need to strengthen your defenses in any particular area? Why must there be any weak points? That's when it hit me: Your Imperial Arm requires concentration; you aren't able to concentrate in a way where your defenses are absolute, so wherever you are really concentrating is where your defenses will be at their strongest. Or to put it another way, wherever you aren't really concentrating is where your chink is. That sound about, right?"

Were one able to see beneath Budo's rock-like helmet, they'd know the answer to his question; the great general was gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes as much as he could. Sure enough, as he rubbed one of his hands over his back, he felt a long crack in his supposedly impenetrable armor. The crack wasn't deep and only resulted in a flesh wound on the general's back, but it still aggravated him nonetheless.

Chelsea appeared to be perplexed. " _What's going on here? He's not usually that perceptive._ "

Suddenly, additional black dust emerged from the ground, incrementally filling in the crack that Tatsumi had just created. Then, with a fierce wave of his hand, Budo manifested multiple boulders from the ground, each the size of a horse. Then, with great fury, he geokinetically hurled them all in the younger warrior's direction. With no difficulty expressed, however, Tatsumi sliced through each boulder one by one.

Budo, however, wasn't deterred by this. Rather, he increased the tempo, gradually firing more and more boulders at increasingly higher intervals. He also began to include sharp orichalchum concentrated jagged rocks into the mix. But the Incursio wielder continued to deflect the full assortment of projectiles being launched in his , with another fierce wave of his hand, four orichalchum enforced walls, each twenty feet in height and length, raised up out of the ground around Tatsumi and speedily began to close in on him. Clearly an effort to crush him. Tatsumi quickly leaped into the air, above the reach of the walls.

Just as Tatsumi rose above them, the walls stopped. The assassin then looked up above, only to see Budo in the air as well. He was no longer wielding two orichalchum-enforced rock-like maces. Rather, he was now wielding a sizable orichalchum enforced war hammer, holding its make-shift handle with both hands. With all of his might, he swung the hammer down towards his adversary. A move which Tatsumi responded to by holding out the shaft of his spear, blocking the attack in the process. Even so, there was so much force behind Budo's strike, that Tatsumi still ended up being slammed into the ground below.

Though the great general wasn't done yet. He dispersed his hammer, instead forming a massive orichalchum enforced boulder in his hands, at least the size of an elephant. He mustered up every ounce of his strength and hurled the boulder down into the ground below him as if it were a falling meteorite, so much so that it created a substantial crater as it crashed onto the cave floor.

Budo then landed next to the boulder lodged into the ground. Were it any other opponent, he would surely return to his normal state and consider his mission complete. But he wasn't just dealing with any opponent. This was an opponent who had kept getting back up, even when he otherwise ought to have died. Such an opponent was not one to underestimate. And with good reason.

Within a fraction of a second, the great general could hear the slight sound of a spear whiffing towards the back of his head. He instantly hardened his helmet with greater intensity, manifested his orichalchum enforced war hammer back into his hands and swung around in a 180 degree arc hoping to catch his adversary off guard. Though what he hit was nothing short of thin air, for Tatsumi had already ducked, simultaneously slashing at both of the general's legs with a quick horizontal swipe.

Budo felt another unexpected surge of pain, but did his best to ignore it, instead opting to swing his war hammer down towards his adversary. But to his own regret, his movements weren't quick enough, for Tatsumi had already leapt out of the way. Instead, he once again stood across from the great general, glaring at him with his otherworldly red eyes.

" _He's gotten so much faster_ ", Budo thought, glancing at the blood seeping down his rock-armor clad thighs.

With but a thought, the burly general dispersed his war hammer, manifesting his two rock-like maces once again. He then viciously rushed towards his adversary, launching another flurry of well-timed swipes with his two deadly weapons. Oddly enough though, Tatsumi did not even bother to block or parry any of his swipes this time, instead simply avoiding each and every blow with pure dexterous body movement. It was a series of repeatedly ducking, dodging and swaying to the side, all of which the young warrior appeared to perform effortlessly.

Budo snarled beneath his helmet. Just the thought of this child having so quickly gone from being nothing to seemingly making sport of the older and more experienced warrior was enough to make his blood boil. He followed up with a vicious thrust with the mace in his right hand, but Tatsumi leaped above the general's head and landed a few yards behind him while the attack was still in mid-motion, causing the general to again strike nothing but air.

The burly general speedily turned around, audibly snarling. " _That brat intentionally severed some of the tendons in my legs to slow me down. At this rate . . ._ " With another fierce gesture of his hands, Budo fired off another set of boulders and jagged rocks. All of which Tatsumi evaded entirely with pure athleticism.

As Budo continued to fire, a thought occurred to him. " _It's as if the more we fight, the more he adapts to everything, from my fighting style to the way I use my imperial arm. Is this the demon armor's true power?"_

Tatsumi kept dodging, incrementally moving closer and closer as he evaded the numerous projectiles. He firmly held his spear in his right hand, the killing intent in his glowing red eyes beyond clear.

" _That has to be it",_ the great general surmised. _"There's no other explanation for how he can adapt to everything so readily. In that case . . ."_ At that moment, Budo ceased firing the numerous boulders and jagged rocks. Instead, he bent his knees and curled both of his arms into a posture similar to one people would use to curl weights or perform pullups. Then, without notice, the ground began violently shaking once more like it did near the beginning of the battle. Only this time, rather than create additional armor, all sorts of jagged orichalchum enforced rocks began flying throughout the room like snow in a harsh snow storm; the jagged rocks were all coming out the ground, the walls and the ceilings.

Tatsumi immediately ceased pressing forward, weaving his head to the side as one of the jagged orichalchum-enforced rocks unexpectedly came flying in his direction. Though he remained composed, Tatsumi nonetheless rubbed an index finger across his exposed cheek, only to notice a smidgen of blood.

Feeling that he once again had the upper hand, Budosmirked beneath his rock-like helmet at the sight of this. " _That's right boy. You may have adapted to my fighting style, but let's see how well you adapt to objects randomly flying at you from angles even I have no knowledge of. And with my armor as malleable as it is, I don't have to worry about getting caught in the crossfire."_

Projectiles were now raining throughout the room in every direction. Chelsea quickly moved herself to a safe distance within the cavern passage immediately outside the grand hall. She gazed back towards the battle to see what had become of her companion, but was astonished at what she saw. Despite the situation he was in, he appeared to be handling himself pretty well. Evasion no longer seemed to be an effortless process on his part as he was once again using his spear as a tool for deflection, but he was avoiding and deflecting every attack.

A fact which didn't seem to deter Budo. " _An admirable effort, but you can't keep this up forever. No one can and there's nothing to adapt to."_

Budo watched the boy's display attentively, waiting for the moment he'd slip up and make a mistake. But as he continued to watch his adversary's dexterous movements, for one reason or another, thoughts of Esdeath began flashing his mind. But why were such thoughts clouding his head at the moment? What did she have to do with anything?

In addition to dodging and deflecting the orichalchum enforced rocks hurling in his direction, Tatsumi started to do something else; amidst his display of superb athleticism, he began speedily circling around his opponent in a 360 degree arc.

" _What is this boy up to_?", Budo thought, narrowing his eyes.

For an entire minute, Tatsumi, leaped, ducked, dodged and deflected projectiles all while circling around Budo. The general observed him diligently, waiting on him to make a mistake or reveal what he was attempting to accomplish. But as he kept his eyes peeled, he started noticing something. Moving in the exact same fashion was a faint image of Esdeath. The image was enveloped around the young man and its movements were in complete sync with his, right down to where they held their weapons, Tatsumi's spear in his right hand and the Ice Queen's rapier in hers.

General Budo watched this sight, this seeming apparition with the utmost astonishment. " _Am I going mad? What is the meaning of this?"_

Within another minute of these rotation, the Incursio wielder made his move. Mid-movement, he hurled his spear straight towards Budo's back. Sensing the younger warrior behind him, the great general smirked beneath his helmet rather confidently. " _So that was your plan? While I'm focused on keeping various parts of my armor hard enough to survive my own random attacks, you'll hit whatever area you suspect I'm not immediately guarding and finish me off. Fool. All I have to do is focus most of my concentration on my back only for a brief moment and then you'll have thrown your weapon away for nothing."_ And so he did just that.

The spear was just about to collide into Budo's back. However, a brief instant before it could do this, Budo noticed a multitude of jagged orichalchum enforced rocks hurling towards his chest and stomach. His eyes widened in shock; he realized he had focused too much concentration into improving the defenses on his back and was sure to be impaled in the front if he didn't act quickly.

Showcasing an amazing level of reaction speed, Budo turned around 180 degrees, causing the jagged rocks to hit and deflect off of his super-concentrated hardened back. Then, just in the nick of time, the great general simultaneously used his left hand to knock the spear away, up into the air, presumably in the hopes of lodging it in a cumbersome place to reach such as the cave's ceiling.

But at that precise moment, beneath his rock based helmet, a look of despair appeared on Budo's face. Despair born as the result of a startling realization. He instantly understood the reason he had been stirred with sudden thoughts of Esdeath. This last phase with this assassin was exactly how their battle played out four years ago. He immediately recalled the Ice Queen circling him in the exact same fashion after she had forced him to rely upon using projectiles that launched at random intervals. He recalled how she threw her ice-enhanced rapier at his back amidst circling him. He recalled how he was forced into a position to deflect the weapon into the air using his hands. And he recalled . . . how she had leaped into the air while he was too focused on the jagged rocks and deflecting her rapier, only for her to catch her rapier in midair, land on his shoulders in a crouched position, tap the tip of her rapier on an area that wasn't currently being concentrated on, his collarbone, and yell " _Checkmate!"_

Before Budo had even realized it, Tatsumi was in the exact same position. Only he didn't settle for tapping the tip of his spear on the general's collarbone. Rather, with every ounce of his might, he drove his weapon down, impaling the mighty general and making sure to puncture through his vital organs. At that very moment, the projectiles ceased flying through the room. Not just that, but Budo's rock-like armor lost form, reverting back into its mineral and soil like state.

Knowing that he was victorious, Tatsumi leapt off the great general, removing his spear as he did so. For it was readily apparent that Budo was in quite a sorry state. A large amount of blood was running out of his mouth and shoulder as he fell to his knees.

And yet despite his condition, the great general merely gazed upon his victorious adversary, dwelling upon him and the previous person to have defeated him. " _In all of my years, to think that the only people to have ever bested me in combat were these two . . . wait, these two brats. That's right, THESE two brats._ "

The truth had finally occurred to Budo. He recalled the meeting he attended weeks ago. The one where Esdeath had revealed her intentions to defeat the Revolutionary Army once and for all. He recalled how she had been drawing a picture of some teenager and how she had showed that picture to him.

" _Who is this_?", Budo had asked her.

To which Esdeath had cheerfully and sincerely replied. " _That is Tatsumi. The man I have decided to eventually share the rest of my life with_."

"I see", Budo muttered, back in the present, amidst coughing up blood. "I see why she would choose someone like you."

Tatsumi merely continued to glare upon his defeated opponent with his glowing red eyes "What are you talking about?",

To which the great general continued coughing, clearly at the very end of his life. "It doesn't matter. I'd rather spend my final words on something important. Particularly, what you plan to do with my country."

"I plan to remove its corruption by any means necessary."

Budo looked upon Tatsumi for a few additional moments, gazing deep into his eyes, perhaps the very window's to his soul. Then, to the surprise of both Night Raid members present, he began to laugh aloud. He had been so stern and serious throughout the entire time they had been around him that they couldn't believe his reaction.

"I don't believe you", Budo said, uncharacteristically smiling with sincerity before falling down on his face. Those were his final words before he left this world.

Tatsumi merely stood there, pondering on what his deceased enemy meant. However, those thoughts were soon interrupted, for Chelsea came running up to him, throwing both arms around him and holding him tightly upon getting within reach. He reached out his left arm and wrapped it around her. As he looked down upon his companion, a light smiled appeared on his face. "We did it."

Feeling his arm wrapped around her, Chelsea found herself blushing all of the sudden, her face beet red. Overcome with a sudden sense of shyness, she averted her gaze to the ground. "Tatsumi, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a while now. What . . . what I want to say is that I . . ."

However, she paused, not saying another word. Sensing something strange, she immediately shifted her eyes back up to her companion's face, only to see that he was no longer awake. Despite standing upright in this position, he was completely unconscious. A few additional seconds went by and his Incursio armor vanished, reverting back to its short sword form and falling on the ground.

Chelsea sighed before smiling at the sight of this. "You're really clueless sometimes, aren't you Tatsumi?"

* * *

 **[ _. . . Chaperones . . ._ ]**

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the assassination of the late Bestimmung ambassador, Klaus Hartmann. Back within the Grand Empire's capital, whispers fluttered throughout the streets and even the castle halls regarding the circumstances of General Budo's sudden absence. Some suspected he had gone AWOL and joined the Revolutionary Army. Others suspected the Prime Minister had finally had enough of his veiled threats and had finally arranged for his execution But no one knew the truth. Not even General Esdeath.

Even still, she didn't appear to be concerned about such matters. In fact, she had been absent from the capital throughout much of the last two weeks, having returned early in the morning. The first thing she did upon returning was to head to the grave of her late subordinate, Bols, whose death she appeared to already be aware of.

Like with her previous subordinates, the three beasts, she knelled at his grave and placed a bouquet of flowers over it. "It's a pity. You offered me so much invaluable data on pursuing Tatsumi and your bravery was second to none. But in the end, your death makes you worthless. Your death proves you were weak. And I have no use for weak subordinates, Bols. Farewell."

As the Ice Queen stood back up, she could feel a familiar aura approaching her from behind. "What is it, Wave?"

The former navy man rested his hands outsides the pockets of his pants and reverently bowed his head. "Commander. I take full responsibility for Bols' death. Punish me as you see fit."

"Hmmph", she smirked. "You're as plain as day."

Wave rose up from his bowing posture, not sure what to make of this vague comment. "Commander?"

Not remotely upset about Wave's performance in Reispan, Esdeath instead rubbed Wave's head like an older sister comforting an upset younger brother. "You feel guilty because you survived the mission while Bols didn't, so now you want personal-retribution. But survival is not a sin. On the contrary, it is proof of your strength. Being strong is something I will never punish a subordinate for. No, I want you to embrace your strength. Embrace it and use it to avenge Bols' death. Can I count on you to do that?"

Wave felt a hint of uneasiness creeping on his heart as he heard that last two sentences. Was there really anything avenge? He nonetheless shrugged those feelings aside, instead putting on a false smile. "As you wish, commander Esdeath."

Nodding in approval, the Ice Queen removed her hand from his head and smiled. "That's what I like to hear. It won't be long until our final operation. If we are to pull it off without incident, I'll need you at your absolute best."

He boldly nodded his head in response. "You can count on me!"

"Today, however, I have a more pressing assignment for you. Gather the rest of the Jaegars and meet me in the conference room."

"At once", Wave bowed. "But if you don't mind me asking, what's this about?"

A question to which the Ice Queen smirked whimsically. "How would you like to be my chaperone?"

He scratched his head, somewhat puzzled. "Chaperone?"

* * *

 **[ _. . . Unexpected contingency . . ._ ]**

* * *

An hour later, elsewhere in the capital, Lubbock was sitting behind the cash register at his bookstore, his eyes attentively pouring over the pages of a manga magazine in his hand. Whatever he was reading, it appeared to cause him a great deal of irritation as soon as he flipped to the last page. "On break 'till summer of next year? After all of these years of waiting, they finally make it to the blasted elf island and the author decides to go on yet another hiatus! This is ridiculous!"

He heard the front door open, likely a customer coming to browse his books, but kept his eyes glued on his magazine. In a rehearsed and clearly disinterested voice, he muttered "Yeah yeah, welcome to Night's bookstore, where 'what goes into a mind comes out in a life. How can I help you?"

"Hello Lubbock", tenderly said a voice that made the green haired assassin nervously jump to his feet.

"Miss Najenda, what are you doing here?!"

Lubbock couldn't believe it, but his commander began to casually approach him with a tender smile on her lips. "What do you think I'm doing here? I'm here to see you of course."

"R-r-r-really?", he nervously stuttered. "You came all of the way up here just to see me?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No. It's not. Never in a million years would that be a problem."

She gently and affectionately caressed his cheek with her real hand, causing Lubbock to fiercely blush. "Then I assume this won't be a problem either."

Lubbock was readily caught off guard by this turn of events. The woman of his deepest affections was leaning in for a kiss. He paused to wonder whether he was dreaming, but quickly decided to make the most of the situation regardless, reciprocating by puckering his lips and closing his eyes.

However, what he felt immediately afterwards weren't the soft and tender lips that he craved, but rather something hard and shell like. He opened his eyes, immediately recognizing that he had just kissed a lobster's claw and that Chelsea had been holding the lobster out in front of him.

The crustacean didn't appear too pleased with Lubbock's face being so close to its claws. It retaliated against him, immediately pinching onto his nose and causing him to yell out in pain. "Get this thing off me!"

"As they say, you should look before you leap!", Chelsea said, giggling mischievously.

"This is so not funny!", he replied, finally prying the little beast off of his face and throwing it into the ground.

Chelsea continued to giggle. "Which part? The lobster or me pretending to be Najenda?"

"Both!", he growled.

"In fairness, you did tell Su you wanted lobster for lunch. All I did was bring it to you."

"How does that excuse the other part? For that matter, how did you even know I had a crush on Miss Najenda."

"You just confirmed it."

"Oh for pete's sake! Is there still anyone in Night Raid who doesn't know about that?"

To which Chelsea scratched her chin, pondering for a moment. "Hmm . . . other than Najenda and Su, if I had to guess, I'd say everyone at least suspects it."

"Wonderful", he said, his words tinted with obvious sarcasm. Not too thrilled with Chelsea's prank, he immediately sat back down with his eyes glued to the magazine he had been reading. "I take it you've got better things to do than mess around with little old me."

"True, I came here to tell you that Najenda wants you all present at the Revolutionary Army main base first thing tomorrow evening. There, the Lord will present you with instructions on the next phase of Night Raid's final operation."

"So there's a second phase", Lubbock said, rubbing his chin. "Interesting. Though you say 'you all present.' Don't you mean 'us'?"

"Najenda has given me a separate assignment. In order to complete it, I'll need to be here in the capital."

"A separate assignment, eh? And none of us have been assigned to assist you?"

She shook her head. "Just me. Besides, if all it takes is a girl batting her eyelashes at you to make you drop your guard, it's all the better you stay behind."

"Hey, there is no one else on the planet, besides Najenda herself, that could have done that!"

Chelsea simply shrugged her shoulders upon hearing this, still amused by her earlier prank. "It's amazing she has no idea that . . ."

But before she could say another word, Lubbock immediately jumped over the counter and swiftly placed his left hand on his fellow Night Raid member's mouth. He next pressed his right index finger against his lips in a perpendicular fashion, signifying the girl to be quiet. Given the urgency of his demeanor, there was clearly a serious matter afoot.

Serious indeed. Two men were approaching the bookstore, about to enter it. Their voices could be heard and they were in the middle of a conversation. The green haired assassin whispered into Chelsea's ear, as if giving her prompt instructions.

"But we're only going to be there until tomorrow. You're not even going to have time to read", one of the men said, turning the front door handle on Lubbock's shop…

"If Tatsumi really lives in some village in the mountains and we're simply going to be there for the sole purpose of reminding the commander when to leave, then there's really not much else for us to do. I may as well get caught up on my reading."

As they entered the shop, Lubbock appeared to be browsing through the bookshelves and Chelsea was standing behind the cash register, having changed her form into that of a bright and chipper brunette store clerk in her upper 40s. "Welcome to Night's bookstore where what goes into a mind comes out in a life. How can I help you?"

Lubbock turned his head, ever slightly, immediately recognizing both men, one he saw in the capital's coliseum nearly two months ago and one he briefly engaged in Ali Jinnah. " _Wave and Run. Jaegars_."

Run smiled with the utmost politeness. "I'd like to get a copy of 'The Thirsty Games: Baldswallow'. I hear it's a real page-turner."

"Oh yes" Chelsea replied, her demeanor ever so uncharacteristically bright and chipper. "You won't be able to put it down!"

Having heard Run's request, Lubbock grabbed a copy from the bookshelf and handed it to his disguised companion without saying a word. Chelsea then punched some buttons into the register and said "That'll be 3 gold pieces!"

"I'll have to come here more often", Run grinned while handing over 3 gold pieces "I was expecting to at least pay 6 gold pieces for a new hot selling book like that."

An observation which, though surprising, didn't appear to unnerve Chelsea in the slightest. "We're having a special today. All new books are half-off. Would you like a bag?"

"No, I should be good", Run said, grabbing the book of the counter and walking back towards the entrance. "Have a nice day!"

"You too!", Chelsea replied. "Come back again real soon!"

After the two Jaegar members exited the shop, Lubbock immediately resumed speaking, noticeably a bit annoyed. "3 gold pieces for 'The Thirsty Games: Baldswallow'? Are you kidding me?"

To which Chelsea replied, promptly reverting to her real body. "How was I to know how much your books cost?"

Recognizing that there was no point complaining about proverbial spilled milk, Lubbock merely sighed. "Well on the bright side, at least they weren't here for me. Especially that blonde one. He didn't actually see my face in Ali Jinnah, but he's so damn observant that he would've recognized my voice for sure."

"Then it's fortunate I stopped by when I did. By the way, did you hear what they said about Tatsumi's village?"

"Sounds like they plan on heading there today. I'm guessing Esdeath wants to check up on Tatsumi for some reason."

"But if she gets to the village and finds out Tatsumi didn't go back as he promised her he would, there's no telling what she'll do", Chelsea remarked, a concern look in her eyes.

"Yeah, no kidding", he replied while tossing her a pair of keys. "Lock up for me, will you? You continue on with your mission. I'll head back to the base and warn Tatsumi pronto."

* * *

 **[ _. . . Releasing tension . . ._ ]**

* * *

Things were quiet back at Night Raid's headquarters. Obviously, neither Lubbock nor Chelsea were present. But incidentally, nor were Akame, Mein, Najenda and Susanoo. It was just Leone and Tatsumi.

Within one of the various rooms within their facility, the Tatsumi had been lying face down on a massage table, draped in nothing but a single towel covering his rear end. His feral companion stood next to him, therapeutically rubbing the muscles in his back.

"Still soar?", she asked, curious to know the effects of her treatment.

"I'm actually doing a lot better."

She let out a soft laugh. "That's good. When Chelsea brought you back here, your body was pretty roughed up. I'm not even kidding. It looked like you had been trampled on by a horse. Especially your ribs and the right side of your head. Chelsea even tells me there was a point where blood was pouring out of your head. It's a miracle you're not dead."

"If not for Bro and Chelsea, I would've been."

"Bro?", she asked inquisitively. "You aren't talking about Bulat, are you?"

"I am. Just when it looked like Budo had won, I saw him in my head. He encouraged me to get back up and keep fighting."

"That sounds like him. Even in death, he's still watching your back."

"I still don't really understand what happened to me afterwards though."

"What do you mean?"

"Incursio . . . it felt different. I felt much stronger, much faster and was just more in tune with things even in the heat of battle. It was as if I was just . . . better."

"Well to tell you the truth, you'd have to be a lot better to beat General Budo all by yourself. If you can do that, we might just be able to beat Esdeath."

"That's the problem. I tried testing Incursio last night, but wielding it felt no different than usual."

"Don't sweat it!", Leone remarked before laughing out loud. "You still need to get some more rest before you've completely recovered. After that, I'm sure using these new abilities of yours will be a piece of cake. 'Till then, just leave everything to your big sis!"

He smiled for a moment, grateful that he had the support of what was more or less a loving family. But as the moment passed, a thought had begun to stir throughout his mind. Perhaps not so much a thought, but an event ingrained in his memory. It was the look on Klaus Hartmann's eyes after he ran his spear through the ambassador's back. The sight of having murdered this man was a sight that refused to leave his thoughts. And with that sight came a dreadful feeling that coursed throughout his entire body.

"Whoa", said a startled Leone, still rubbing her companion's shoulders. "You got tense all of the sudden. What's the deal?"

"Nothing", Tatsumi responded, attempting to sound as indifferent as possible.

"You sure?", she said in a tone laced with concern. "If you wanna talk about something, we can talk."

"No. I'm fine."

Sensing that her companion was not going to open up, Leone shrugged her shoulders. "Well all right. I guess we should instead focus on getting you back to tip top condition ASAP before we head to the main base."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Ever heard of a sacred spot massage?", the feral assassin asked before letting out a soft yet devious chuckle.

"No, what's that?"

"It's what the name implies. They say your sacred spot is the source of all of your energy. By massaging it in a certain way, you'll automatically release any and all negative energy and feel much much . . . . . . better."

Thoughts of what had occurred in Bestimmung quickly dispersed from his head. Instead, Tatsumi found himself increasingly curious about this special massage his companion had just described. "I didn't even know that was possible. Can you really do that?"

"Of course I can", she said with a playful wink. "Just take a deep breath, relax and leave everything to your big sis."

He nodded his head and sighed before closing his eyes.

Seeing and hearing a sign of approval, Leone immediately got to work; she began to transition her movements from her companion's shoulders, to his back, to his lower back and then . . . beneath his towel.

"Um . . . Leone?", Tatsumi said, confused by what was going on.

But she shushed him and whispered. "Relax. Just . . . relax."

He lied there for a moment, attempting to disregard what his companion was doing back there, but . . . "Um . . . what exactly are you . . . DOING?!"

Tatsumi swiftly hopped off the massage table, grabbed his towel, wrapped it around his waist and fearfully ran towards the room's exit. "THAT'S the sacred spot massage?!"

An amused Leone chased after him "Oh c'mon. Just give it a chance. It feels a lot better once you relax!"

"No way! Absolutely not!"

Tatsumi swiftly opened the door, preparing to make a hasty retreat, only to see Lubbock on the other side.

"Ah Tatsumi. Glad I found you. Listen, you need to . . .". It took the green haired assassin a couple of moments to even register the sight before him. Tatsumi draped in nothing but a towel, Leone nearby and a massage table. His gut reaction was to rub his face against the palm of his hand and shake his head simultaneously. "Why oh why must life be so unfair?"

Tatsumi simply looked at the other man with skepticism in his eyes. "Unfair? She was about to give me a sacred spot massage? A massage which is anything but!"

"She was going to give you a sacred spot massage? Excuse me for a moment" Lubbock said before turning around and pounding his head against the door several times.

"What are you doing back here so early anyway?", asked Leone.

"Right . . . let me start over", Lubbock said, taking a deep breath, exhaling and immediately composing himself. "I came here to warn Tatsumi that Esdeath plans on heading to his village today."

The Incursio wielder's eyes widened as he heard this. "What? But she said she wouldn't return until after dealing with the Revolutionary Army."

"Well that's apparently no longer the case", Lubbock responded. "If I were you, I'd head back to that village right now."

"Easier said than done. When I had first left my village to head to the capital, it took me more than a week to get there."

"That shouldn't be a problem", Leone interjected. "You didn't have access to an air manta back then."

Lubbock nodded his head. "We can fly to your village, drop you off and then head down to the Revolutionary Army base ourselves. The Jaegars said something about leaving tomorrow, so if we play our cards right, the only real problem will be how you get to the base by tomorrow evening."

"Where is the base?", Tatsumi asked.

To which Lubbock plainly answered. "Deep near the southern border. In other words, since your village is in the northern region, you'll practically have to cross the entire Empire to get there."

Tatsumi shook his head, believing that he was being tasked with doing the impossible. "There's no way."

But Leone appeared to disagree, rubbing her chin while pondering on the matter. "Unless . . . we were to send an air manta to the closest outpost we have near your village. It's been a while since I've been up there, but it should be about 30 miles away from there at an abandoned farm. You could meet our spies there. Just show them your Incursio armor and they'll know you're part of Night Raid. You should be able to get to the base if you go about it like that. Not first thing in the evening like the boss wants, but somewhere around that timeframe I think."

In a split instant, Tatsumi's demeanor went from troubled to bright and cheerful. "Wow, that's perfect! Thank you Leone!"

As always, the feral assassin wasn't shy about returning the favor, especially when it came to public displays of affection; she grabbed Tatsumi's head and shoved it up against her chest like usual. "See? What did I tell you? Just leave everything to your big sis!"

Lubbock stood there and watched Leone's vivacious display of affection, sighing at the sight. "If I ever got even half that close, she would squeeze my head clean off."

* * *

 **[ _. . . Return to Impertinens . . ._ ]**

* * *

A bit north to the capital, in the northern regions of the Grand Empire was a mountain range that had come to be known as Shiranami Mountains. The weather around the mountains was certainly cold, but not enough to main constant ice and snow. Rather, grass and spruce trees flourished. Up in the actual mountains, however, snow and ice appeared to be plentiful, though likely seasonal given the presence of trees, each in a dormant winter state.

It was early into the afternoon, no later than 1:30, and Tatsumi had just hopped off the air manta Leone and Lubbock were riding on. He was standing on grass at the base of the mountains. He was donned in his black winter coat with white fur around the collar. Evidently a sense of fashion common in his village, given that Sayo and Iiyesu had worn such coats when they had embarked on their trip to the Capital.

"Sorry we can't take you any further up", said Lubbock, clearly the one steering the tamed danger beast. "Chelsea might have explained it to you in Bestimmung, but air mantas don't do too well in cold temperatures. Even down here, it's getting pretty hard to navigate."

"It's fine", Tatsumi responded. "I should be able to make it up the rest of the way in no time."

Leone removed a map from her bra and handed it to Tatsumi. "Almost forgot. Take this. I've marked the location of the outpost you'll need to go to as well as the Revolutionary Army base."

"Yeah", Lubbock nodded. "And another thing, don't show that to anyone under ANY circumstances. We clear?"

Tatsumi gave his companion a thumbs up sign and nodded his head. "I'll see you both tomorrow!"

With that Leone and Lubbock waved their hands goodbye before the air manta rose higher into the air and soared off towards the south. Tatsumi, on the other hand immediately summoned his Incursio armor. He took a moment to look down at his hands, flexing them back and forth before making an intuitive conclusion. " _It's no good. I'm still the same. Is Leone right? Do I simply need more rest? Or . . ."_ He shook his head though, doing his best not to give additional thoughts on the matter and immediately began dashing his way up the mountain. " _No time to think about that. Have gotta get to the village as fast as I can._ "

And so the young assassin did just that, running up the nearest mountain with speed far beyond anything an ordinary human could accomplish. The snow and the heightened elevation were nothing to him. Obviously, the mountains had to have contained a navigable path of some sort that would make it easy for villagers to come and go as they pleased. Wherever such a path lied, however, Tatsumi didn't appear interested, instead making a b-line up the mountain in an effort to get to his destination as quickly as possible.

Thus, what would've taken a normal human at least two hours took the young assassin no more than 5 minutes of scaling through and passing trees, rocks, snow and steep inclines. In that small amount of time, upon making his way halfway up the mountain, he had finally arrived. There, no more than a few hundred yards away from him, was his village.

And to Tatsumi's great delight, the village was just as he left it. No, perhaps even better. Even though he stood from a distance, he could already see villagers in the middle of construction on new buildings, using industrial wood and masonry supplies from the capital no less. There also appeared to be a sweet pleasing aroma in the area, apple pies perhaps? Not just this, but as he squinted his eyes, he could see small children running around in the snow, playing with dolls and toy swords, all merrily laughing without a care in the world.

He fell to his knees, Incursio reverting back to its dormant shortsword state as he did so. There was a small and sudden stream of warm liquid in his eyes, a part of him having wondered whether he'd ever live long enough to see this day come to fruition. But there it was; his village was doing well. A sight that he could not help but cheerfully smile at.

Knowing that time was of the essence, Tatsumi readily stood back on his feet, making sure to rub the tears out of his eyes, before walking back into the place he hadn't been to for so long; to the very place that prompted him to head to the Capital all of those months ago in the first place.

As he approached the village gates, two of the village guards standing watch immediately recognized him. "Hey, it's Tatsumi! He's finally come back!"

Another guard spoke up, ringing a sizable bell as he did so. "Everyone! Tatsumi is finally here!"

Suddenly, just about everyone in the village stopped what they were doing. Instead, just about every villager, somewhere in the range of 100 people, rushed towards the front gates, as if they were desperately trying to meet a celebrity. By the time the Night Raid assassin had walked through the village gates, the villagers had already surrounded him, each calling out his name, thanking him for saving the village, asking him how he became a big shot in the Empire and a litany of other questions.

Tatsumi was a bit overwhelmed, unused to this sort of attention. Before it could continue, however, a loud whistle could be heard within the crowd, immediately prompting everyone to cease talking, as if they understood its significance. And significant it was, for through the crowd and with the whistle walked a bearded man the Tatsumi knew all too well: The village elder. The elder was dressed in the same attire he had worn as he saw Tatsumi, Sayo and Ieyesu off all those months ago; he wore a black coat much like Tatsumi's, a head band with a cross symbol in the center and a black hat to match his black coat.

Just as the elder walked up to him, Tatsumi politely bowed his head. "Elder Choro, I have returned."

"We knew you had set out to the Capital in the hopes of making a name for yourself in the army, but none of us ever would've dreamed that you'd be able to obtain enough influence to send us 1,000,000 gold pieces, 100 tons of grain and 10,000 tons of brick and lumber. They even built us a barn to house all of the cattle they sent us. To think that you accomplished all of this in mere months."

"To be honest, Elder Choro, I did have help."

To which the village elder promptly removed his hat and reverently held it against his chest. "Ah, Sayo and Ieyasu. I see. When I received that letter you sent us, we mourned their loss for weeks. What happened to them is my fault. If only I had forbidden them from going to the Capital, then . . ."

" _That's right"_ , Tatsumi thought, reflecting on events that occurred around the time he officially joined Night Raid. " _I did send a letter, but Najenda forbade me from mentioning anything about Night Raid or how Sayo and Ieyasu died. It's just as well. No one in the village needs to know that."_

"But now's not the time to relive our grieving. If they helped you accumulate all of this wealth for the village, then we will gladly celebrate their efforts as well for . . ."

But Tatsumi quickly cut him off, fearing the confusion that could arise later. "No, Elder Choro. With all due respect, that's not what I mean. Sayo and Ieyasu died bravely and I will always hold them close to my heart, but when I say I had help, I'm referring to someone else."

Upon hearing this, Elder Choro placed his hat back on his head. "Then tell us who it is that helped you so that we may honor them as well."

"Well, before I tell you, I'm going to make a request that may sound strange, but will make sense whenever I get the chance to explain it", Tatsumi remarked, the uncomfortable look on his face as plain as day. "I know this is asking a lot, but there will be some people coming to visit the village shortly and as long as they are here, I'd like for everyone in the town to act as if I've actually been here for the past month."

"You're right. That is a very strange request. Might I ask the reason for it?"

"It's . . . complicated", Tatsumi rereplied, scratching the back of his head somewhat nervously.

"Well, for the person who saved our village, who are we to deny such an accommodation?"

Happy to see Elder Choro's willingness to assist him, Tatsumi sighed in relief. "Thank you!"

Elder Choro then cleared his throat, as if preparing to make an announcement. "LISTEN HERE! HENCEFORTH, NO ONE IN THE VILLAGE IS TO INFORM ANY OUTSIDER ABOUT HOW LONG TATSUMI HAS BEEN HERE SINCE HE LEFT. AS LONG AS OUTSIDERS ARE HERE, YOU ARE ALL TO ACT IF TATSUMI HAS BEEN HERE FOR THE PAST MONTH! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"

To which mostly everyone in the village responded affirmatively. Surely any outside observer would have been flabbergasted at how much respect this one person appeared to readily command. But in such a closely small and tight-net village as this, it was understandable.

"NOW WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY, LETS GIVE TATSUMI SOME SPACE. HE'S SURE TO HAVE BEEN TRAVELING FOR SOME TIME AND DESERVES SOME REST. THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF TIME TO SEE TATSUMI LATER!"

Heeding their elders command, the villagers' dispersed and went back to their own affairs, but not without groans from a number of them, especially the children.

"I had no idea everyone held me in such high regard", Tatsumi said as he observed this.

"We've always held you in high regard, Tatsumi, but ever since those requisitions from the capital came, people have gone from holding you in high regard to thinking of you as a full blown savior. It's only natural that everyone would feel this way. The children especially. You should hear the stories they tell themselves about you: From fighting armies of bandits by yourself to saving damsels in distress."

"Damsels in distress?", Tatsumi asked before letting out a soft laugh. He could hardly believe that people were spouting such tales about someone like him.

To which the elder nodded his head before smirking whimsically. "Speaking of which, I don't suppose you've found yourself a nice girl in the Capital. There are plenty of nice girls here who would be relieved to find out you haven't."

"Well now that you mention it", Tatsumi said, his laughter now being laced with nervousness, "the truth is that . . ."

But he stopped speaking mid-sentence, his attention being caught by a familiar pet dragon flying a few hundred feet in the air above the village. He immediately recognized this dragon as being the same one he saw at Mt. Fake about a month ago.

At the very next moment, a tall and slender figure leaped off the tamed beast without having it descend any closer to the ground, effortlessly landing next to Tatsumi and the village elder like a child at the park leaping off a swing set.

Elder Choro stood and gaped at this figure, clearly never having seen someone perform such a superhuman feat, much less without effort. Tatsumi, however, cringed at the sight. " _Was that really necessary?"_

The figure immediately turned her attention to the lone Night Raid member present, cheerfully smiling as she did so. "We meet again, Tatsumi!"

"Esdeath!", Tatsumi said, doing his best to sound surprised. "What are you doing here? Is the rebellion over already?"

The Ice Queen shook her head. "Not quite yet, but it will be soon. I had planned on delaying our reunion until then, but four weeks away from you is just more than even I can bare. I just had to come see you."

"Where are the Jaegars? Don't they usually accompany you?"

She nodded. "They traveled by air manta. When it comes to cold weather, not as reliable as my pet obviously. They should be up here soon though. But don't worry. They won't get in our way. They're just here because I'd probably be too tempted to get carried away and stay here for who knows how long otherwise."

Feeling as if he were being ignored, Elder Choro made certain to clear his throat loud enough to remind the two of them that he was present. "Tatsumi, who is this woman if I might ask?"

To which Tatsumi apologetically bowed his head. "Oh sorry, Elder Choro. This is General Esdeath. She is the one who had the requisitions sent here."

"A general?!", the elderly man remarked, amazed that someone of such high rank would grace the village with her presence. "Then on behalf of Impertinens, you will eternally have our gratitude. But tell me: You talk so informally with our Tatsumi here. What is your relation to him?"

Her response was blunt and straight to the point. "He's my lover."

Elder Chorro eye's widened even further and his jaw dropped moreso than it already had. Tatsumi, meanwhile, turned his head away, desperately trying to hide his embarrassment. " _Is she ever subtle?"_

The old man swiftly grabbed Tatsumi by the head and whispered into his hear. "How in blazes did you get yourself an enticing fox like this?!"

"Lets just say my time in the capital is a long long story."

Hearing an additional group of people approach the village, the elder released Tatsumi from his grip and turned his attention to the gates. There, he saw four people, all dressed in appropriate cold weather clothing; none from the village; two young men and two young women. Esdeath looked in this direction as well, waving for them to come forward.

As the group approached the area, the Ice Queen turned her attention back to the old man. "Elder Choro, these are my Jaegars. They will be my chaperones for the remainder of my visit here. I trust that won't be a problem."

"But of course", the elder replied. "You helped save our village, so you and any friends you have are always welcome here!"

Tatsumi squirmed to himself, rather aware of the gravity of the situation he was in. " _Gotta be careful. If any one of them suspects anything suspicious even for a moment, I'm screwed."_

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** And there you have it! Another chapter out of the way! By my calculations, we've got 8 more chapters left in this series. Expect the next chapter by next week or the week after. Or who knows, maybe earlier!

Thoughts? Hate it? Love it? Meh? Feel free to favorite, follow or leave a review! Lemme know what you think of this seventh chapter in this _Down a different branch_ AKG installment. Till next time! :D


	8. Kill the Heart

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 **A/N:** Just as promised, the next chapter ladies and gentleman! This may very well be record time for me!

#1. As always, thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows. To the two recent guest reviews, your words are very kind and I'm gracious you each took the time to read and review my story! Unfortunately, I have no plans on having Tatsumi and Chelsea get together, although I easily could have that happen. As I mentioned in a previous author note, if not for Esdeath, that would certainly be my 'go-to pairing' so to speak! As far as Lubbock and Najenda, you'll just have to wait and see!

#2. Many of you will read this chapter, quickly making broad assumptions as to where I intend to take this story. I would advise against that! The overall plot has not changed. And that's all I'm gonna say! ;)

Without further ado . . .

* * *

 _ **Updated 1/18/17 - Fixed prose and grammatical errors.**_

* * *

 _ **Episode 21: Kill the Heart**_

If the village of Impertinens was merely halfway up the Shiranami Mountains, what was beyond it? More trees, more snow, more ice, steeper inclines, but no settlements, much less lodges. There were, however, Tatsumi and Esdeath. Both were walking alongside one another, in the midst of trudging their way further up the peak. Esdeath appeared to have a flier in her hands, no doubt taken off the village notice board.

"How disappointing", said the Ice Queen. "Not a single danger beast in sight."

"That's pretty much been the case around here for as long as I can remember."

"You've never seen danger beasts roam this mountain?"

Tatsumi shook his head while smiling reminiscently. "Back in the day, my friends and I would come up here and play. We were only kids back then, but Elder Choro didn't think it was a problem Heck, whenever the weather was like this, we would have three-way snowball fights."

"Interesting", Esdeath responded before inspecting the flier closely, presumably yet again. "And yet a few of your villages' lumbermen haven't been seen in days since venturing up here."

"True. What do you suppose we're dealing with?"

The Ice Queen rubbed her chin before giving an answer. "If it is in fact a danger beast we're dealing with, it's likely class one if it's bold enough to enter areas humans have long cleared out. It also must've been attracted here for some reason; the lack of competition on the food chain if I had to guess."

"If it's just a class one, it shouldn't be a problem."

"In terms of fighting it, of course. Mere child's play. Tracking it down, however, requires more finesse. Not a task someone unfamiliar with hunting should partake in."

"Hey!", Tatsumi, somewhat offended. "What's that supposed to mean?"

For one reason or another, the Incursio wielder reaction put a blushing smile on the general's face. "Oh? So then you do like hunting?"

Tatsumi was a little taken aback by Esdeath's sudden change in demeanor, but answered anyhow. "I guess I like it about as much as I like to cook. I know how to do it, but it's not something I ever go out of my way to do."

Just hearing his response caused her to let out a disappointed sigh. " _So hunting is a no_. _That still leaves the other two._ "

"I'm surprised you didn't have the Jaegars come up here with us. With their help, we could probably find this danger beast in no time."

"I'd rather my time with you be spent without any distractions. That and they could use some rest and reprieve. They put on a tough front, but each of them are still grieving the death of my fifth man, Bols."

Hearing these sentiments expressed by this monster of a woman left Tatsumi a bit awe-struck for several moments. "You know, you can act pretty heartless at times, but deep down, you really care about your subordinates, don't you?"

"You're right. I do care about them."

He began to smile upon hearing this. "You have no idea how relieved I-"

But Esdeath wasn't finished speaking. "I care a great deal about the efficiency of anyone under my command."

His almost-smile quickly vanished, being replaced with a look of perplexity. "Huh?"

"Unlike most other species, human beings loath being controlled and crave independence. Many leaders make the mistake of constantly lording over their subordinates; commanding them in such a way as to earn their burning ire. This in turn results in soldiers with no sense of loyalty or devotion to whatever cause they're fighting for, making them far less likely to fight with everything they have or resist treacherous temptations. Even the prime minister doesn't appear to understand this."

"What makes your leadership different?"

"Simple. I treat my subordinates with respect. I make sure to acknowledge their needs, within reason of course. I feign interest in deeply caring about each and every one of them. In turn, they are all devoted to my cause, each fighting on the battlefield not because some fool of a prime minister, but because of their commitment to me. In essence, they believe their actions are entirely of their independent conscience, not realizing that they've been subtly manipulated."

Hearing this would surely have sounded clever and brilliant to the people who clapped at that play in Bestimmung, but it merely made Tatsumi shake his head and sigh out of exasperation. "I should've known."

"Don't tell me you're troubled by this."

"And just how am I supposed to feel about hearing how you manipulate your own allies?"

"You should feel impressed. It gets results."

He narrowed his eyes, recalling how highly General Liver had spoken of Esdeath before he died. "It's gets people killed because they believe they're fighting for your honor when they're really just tools to you."

"What difference does it make whether they are tools to me? They don't know that. I've effectively made an otherwise unpleasant profession very pleasant for many willing people. Their ignorance is to everyone's benefit, including their own."

"So what does that make me? Why should I believe I'm not just someone else you're trying to manipulate for your own ends?"

Hearing Tatsumi ask this question made the Ice Queen giggle for reasons unclear.

"What's so funny?"

"Trust me, I've given it a great deal of thought as of late; it's not as if I've never entertained such notions. It's just that if I were to do that . . . if I were to try to manipulate, torture or otherwise force you into returning my feelings, you would no longer be Tatsumi; the way I see it, you would just be a mindless puppet. And I will not settle for a mindless puppet. Ever. I will not settle for a forgery or a cheap imitation. Ever. My dearest Tatsumi, if I am to win your heart, I endeavor to win it legitimately or not at all."

"Whoa. Are you feeling all right?", the Incursio wielder responded, a puzzled expression on his face.

"I'm fine. We generals have been subject to so many assassination attempts that we've long trained our bodies to resist just about all manners toxins and physical ailments."

"No, that's not what I mean. It's just . . . I never really pictured you saying something like that. I thought you planned on changing me."

"Hmmph", she smirked. "You will change, but it will only be of your free will. That much I can promise you."

"There's also something else that's bugging me! I can't believe I'm even mentioning this, but you haven't tried to kiss me even once since you got here. That's usually a given any time I'm around you."

To which the Ice Queen blushed. "We can fix that right now if you'd like."

"No no no no", Tatsumi responded with a 'stay back' hand gesture and his usual nervousness "I think I'm good."

Esdeath sighed. "Well, if you must know, it's like I said. I have no plans on forcing you to return my feelings. That includes kissing."

"Really?"

She nodded her head. "It's awfully tempting, but I've decided against it. The next time we kiss, I want it to be of your own free will."

Tatsumi was given pause; he was astonished at the Ice Queen's proclamation. " _She's actually serious."_

With that, they continued traipsing up the mountain. As they moved forward, Esdeath winced her eyes at something in the snow. She knelled down, scooped it up off the ground and closely inspected it with her eyes and nostrils.

"Find something?", Tatsumi asked.

To which Esdeath nodded her head, turned towards the young assassin and held out her hand simultaneously; it was several threads of straw. "This."

"What's that?"

"Dried Vornan grass."

"Dried what?"

"A kind of hay that is surprisingly malleable to all environments. You won't find any on a mountain like this, but a little further south, in a warmer climate, it's a different story."

"Meaning someone . . . or rather something brought it here?"

"Correct. A danger beast to be exact. Female at that", she noted before sniffing the dried grass once more. "And if I had to guess, our culprit is none other than a class one cockatrice."

"You can determine all that based on a few straws of hay?", Tatsumi asked, somewhat awed by the Ice Queen's clairvoyance.

"Didn't I tell you?", she asked rhetorically. "Back before I joined the army, this was all I did. Regrettably, there's only so much I can get out of hunting danger beasts all the time."

"What about ultra class?", Tatsumi asked inquisitively.

"Ultra-class beasts are extremely rare and significantly powerful. But believe or not, a strong human opponent with incredible potential can be much more deadly."

"Incredible potential?"

"People are born into the world with different advantages. Many artists are born with a high aptitude for the fine arts. Many athletes are born with a high aptitude for athletics. Many politicians are born with a high aptitude for charisma. Me? I was born with an exceptionally high aptitude for combat. Through years of leveling up on the battle field, I've reached the pinnacle of what I'm capable of and have earned the title of being the strongest in the Grand Empire."

" _She may be right"_ , Tatsumi thought. _At the very least, General Budo was a lot older than her and probably more experienced, but I can tell just by looking at her that she's on a whole other level."_

"And yet even still, I find myself unsatisfied", Esdeath sighed. "Surely I'm not the only one in the world who was born like this. How marvelous it would be to finally find a truly worthy opponent. There's no more thrilling than being faced with a challenge you don't know you can overcome Don't you agree?"

Not being a battle maniac of course, Tatsumi merely shrugged his shoulders. "Not really."

Just hearing these words left a dumbstruck expression on the Ice Queen's face; she hadn't anticipated him to be so indifferent about the subject. "Really? Then why do you fight? Why do you train?"

"Why else? So I can protect my village and my friends."

"I see", said Esdeath as she once again let out a disappointed sigh. " _So combat is off the list as well. That only leaves one more . . ._ "

The two continued their expedition, eventually drawing close to the mountain's peak as they did so. The weather there was much more bothersome than it was down below. The winds were stronger and there was so much snow flurry that visibility was very limited even though it was still the afternoon.

They eventually came to a stop as the Ice Queen pointed to a nearby precarious and isolated cliff-sided ledge not reachable by foot. Were an ordinary person making an attempt to get to the ledge, they'd have to leap to it at the risk of falling off the mountain entirely, landing on the ground thousands of feet below.

But that wasn't all. Closer examination of the ledge revealed a sizable nest made of the exact same hay material Esdeath had spotted earlier. And in that nest was a sleeping danger beast perhaps the size of a giraffe; it resembled a rooster from its head, to its wings to its upper body; it also possessed draconic like features, specifically it's wings, legs and tail.

"Well well well, if it isn't the cockatrice", Esdeath noted as she glanced in the beast's direction.

Getting a good look at this creature, Tatsumi nodded his head while walking as close as he could get to the ledge. "Good. It's asleep. If I time myself just right, I can jump over there and slay it at the same time. Or if you use your ice powers to make a bridge from here to there, we can kill it just as quickly without any trouble."

With his back turned, a mischievous smile enveloped on the Ice Queen's lips. It was as if an enticing thought had just occurred to her. Standing behind the object of her affections, she crouched down, gathered some of the snow off the ground and formed it into a ball. Then, just as she stood back up . . .

"Hey!", Tatsumi yelled after feeling a snowball pelt him on the back of the head. He swiftly turned around with an annoyed look in his eyes, only to see the Esdeath looking in another direction while whistling whimsically.

"Something wrong?", she said with a faux-innocent expression.

"Very funny", the Incursio wielder responded, his voice laced with thick sarcasm.

Just as Tatsumi turned his attention back to the sleeping danger beast nearby, he felt another snowball hit him on the back of the head. Upon feeling this, he turned around once more, only to see Esdeath in the exact same posture she was in previously. "Cut it out!", he said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about", she responded with a playful smirk.

He rolled his eyes, once again turning his attention back to the sleeping creature in an effort to determine what kind of leap he would need to pull off to get over there successfully while killing the cockatrice in one fell swoop. Such thoughts, however, were yet again interrupted with a snowball pelting him on the back of the head. "Okay, that's it!", he said before immediately turning around, crouching down and forming a snowball of his own.

Esdeath chuckled at the sight of his actions. "I'll have you know, Tatsumi. In addition to hunting and combat, the Partas clan hailed me as a snowball genius. You haven't the slightest chance."

He returned her chuckle with a chuckle of his own, simultaneously throwing a snowball towards the Ice Queen's head. "Yeah, we'll just see about that!"

Not only did she duck the incoming projectile, but she threw another snowball of her own at him while doing so, nailing him clean in the face. Tatsumi responded by scooping up additional snowballs and rapidly firing them at the Ice Queen. She nonetheless dodged each and every one, pelting him with a snowball of her own after each and every one of his attempts.

Having gotten hit in the face with perhaps 20+ different snowballs, Tatsumi took a brief moment to wipe the excess snow off his face. Esdeath, however, continued to taunt him, smirking as she did so. "Does this mean you give up?"

However, the Night Raid assassin didn't appear deterred or dismayed in the slightest. Just as soon as he finished wiping the snow off of his face, he smirked with the utmost confidence. "I'm just getting started!"

She looked at his expression, amused by his demeanor. " _If I didn't know better, I'd say he was enjoying himself."_

Tatsumi gathered two additional snowballs off the ground, throwing one at Esdeath while leaping behind the cover of a nearby oak tree at the same time.

Like all the others, Esdeath displayed no trouble avoiding this latest snowball. Upon doing so, she casually and confidently approached the tree with yet another snowball in her hand. "Now correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you say we were going to see about something?"

With a quick dash, she sprang up behind the oak tree with her hand clenched on her snowball. But to her surprise, Tatsumi wasn't crouched behind the tree as she suspected.

"This!", Tatsumi yelled while shaking the tree branches. He had apparently climbed higher into the tree while the Ice Queen wasn't looking. As he shook the branches, the snow that had been accumulated on them descended towards the ground, well on its way to falling upon the Ice Queen's head.

"Too slow!", she said with an ever-confident smirk on her lips. She effortlessly leaped out of the falling snow's path, but perhaps to her misfortune. For as she dodged, she noticed another snowball hurling towards her, no more than a foot away from hitting her face.

" _Crafty_ ", she thought, reflexively swaying her head to the side. However, at the very moment she moved to avoid the latest snowball, she noticed Tatsumi mere inches in the air above her, preparing to pounce.

And so he did, tackling the Ice Queen to the ground and also pinning both of her arms down while doing so. "Didn't see that coming, did you?", he asked, self-assuredly smiling and catching his breath.

With his face so close to hers and their bodies pressed together, the Esdeath merely laid there blushing, not putting up any fight whatsoever. " _To be honest, I did . . ."_

After a few more moments of being in this position, the Night Raid assassin's eyes started to waver to the side. " _Get it together, Tatsumi. You didn't come here to have fun. She's still your enemy._ "

Esdeath suddenly felt the boy's grip loosening, a sensation which brought her more rational side back to the forefront. "You should never let your guard down . . . even for a moment!"

Showing a great deal of wrestling prowess, she suddenly broke out of Tatsumi's hold, knocking him over and lying on his back at a 90 degree angle while hooking his right arm and pulling it back towards his body; she used a technique that most martial arts recognized as the 'fujiwara armbar.' Regardless of the name, it appeared to be an effective technique, as Tatsumi was already gritting his teeth in pain.

Surely moving his arm a few more inches would be enough to dislocate or even break it. But Esdeath did no such thing, despite her natural tendencies towards sadism. Rather, she merely released his arm from her grasp without any additional struggle, standing back on her feet afterwards. "Let's call our little game a draw. We can always continue later."

Tatsumi rose to his feet and brushed off the excess snow on his chest. "Yeah. Sure"

"For now, we can focus on dealing with that cockatrice. After what it did to your villagers, I'm sure you'd like nothing else but to give it a death slow and agonizing."

And yet the look on Tatsumi's face displayed complete disinterest in such an idea. "Nah, I'd rather just get it over with. The sooner that monster is dead, the sooner villagers are safe to enter and leave this area to their heart's content. Besides, I've never really been a fan of torture."

" _Not a fan of torture? Damnit",_ Esdeath thought. _"That's all three! Now what am I going to do?"_

* * *

 **[. . . _Let her have cake_ . . .]**

* * *

Impertinens itself was a small and humble community surrounded by wooden gates, every single building being a log cabin of some sort. Though the craftsmen were in the process of expanding the village, every other building looked the same, with the exception of Elder Choro's cabin, which was taller and wider than any other residence in the area.

Despite the village's size, however, not every cabin was occupied. The Jaegars learned this firsthand after the village elder directed them to use one particular unoccupied log cabin for the remainder of their time there. It wasn't exactly a spacious cabin, but it did possess one living room, one kitchen, two bathrooms and two bedrooms. Having looked around the entire wooden residence, they all went back to the living room, briefly congregating with one another.

Wave uncomfortably looked around the room for a moment, as if waiting for someone to address what he thought to be the proverbial pink elephant in the room. Though after waiting several moments, he decided to speak up. "Alright . . . I'll say what everyone is thinking: Who gets to sleep where?"

Kurome rolled her eyes. "That is so not what everyone is thinking!"

"I have to concur with Kurome", Run noted rather bluntly.

Seryu appeared to be upbeat about the subject. "Back when I was part of the Imperial Police, Captain Ogre had a strict policy that demanded coed sleeping arrangements, so I'm fine anywhere."

Wave sighed, seeing yet another example of him being the most mundane member of the group. " _Why do I even bother?"_

Everyone in the room suddenly heard a noticeably audible stomach-rumbling sound. They all looked down on the ground in the same direction, realizing Seryu's pet, Koro, to be the source. "Whoopsie", she said. "I didn't even realize it, but it's well past your lunch time. Lets go see if we can rustle you up some grub!"

As Seryu and her biological imperial arm headed out the cabin, Run promptly began treading back towards one of the bedrooms, holding the book he had purchased earlier in his hands. "If anyone needs me, I'll be back here."

Wave turned his head in the former teacher's direction. "Oh c'mon! This is the closest thing we've had to a vacation and you're going to spend your time reading?"

"More or less", Run replied before shutting the door behind him.

"Guess that just leaves you and . . . me?" Wave looked around the room, only to notice that Kurome was halfway out the door. "Hey wait a minute, where are you going?"

"I saw some children around here eating chocolate cake. I'd like to get some myself."

"I'll join you!"

With that, the two stepped out the log cabin, endeavoring to find out where they might obtain such a tasty sweet. The walked alongside one another side by side, casually at that.

As they strolled their way through the village, Wave looked around, left and right, observing the children playing, the craftsmen building and the blacksmith pounding away at metal. A feeling was flowing throughout him. It was the feeling of nostalgia. "You know, even though the village I was raised in is on the coast, it's not that much different from this village from the looks of it."

This prompted Kurome to look around as well. Granted, she had a separate observation. "Nah. Doesn't your village have a lot of fisherman?"

"Well yeah, but what's that got to do with anything?"

"Fish smell."

"What?", he said with the utmost incredulity. "No, they don't!"

"They do."

"I've been around a lot of fish. That's just a myth!"

"Maybe you've gotten used to the smell."

"No way! Fish only smell bad when they're rotting, no different than any other animal!"

She giggled. "And yet fish are the only animals with the reputation for smelling fishy."

"Okay, you're just teasing me now!"

She continued to giggle. "A little."

"Listen, if there's one thing I know, it's fish and . . ."

Kurome, however, didn't let him get out another word, instead directing her attention to someone walking out of one of the cabins with a box of cake in their hands. "Hey, that must be the bakery!"

"Don't think we're done talking about this!", he muttered, undignified about what was clearly a passionate subject for him.

As they entered the shop, Kurome was awed by the wide selection of sweets she saw sitting in the shelves; ice cream, gumdrops, candy bars, pudding, pies and cake. Of the cake selections, the bakery had vanilla, strawberry, banana and . . .

"I'll have your chocolate cake!", the black eyed Jaegar said enthusiastically, her attention directed to the baker standing behind the store counter.

The baker nodded her head, removed one of several such cakes from the shelves. "That'll be 6 gold pieces!"

"Right, just let me get it . . . out of my pockets." She maneuvered her hands throughout every compartment on her outfit, awkwardly blushing as she came to the conclusion that she didn't have a single gold piece on her.

With a single glance, Wave instantly put two and two together and understood the situation perfectly; he laid six gold pieces on the store counter without any hesitation. Not concerned with who was paying, the baker simply handed Kurome the box of cake.

Just as soon as they both stepped foot out of the shop, Kurome looked up at her companion with uncharacteristically cheery eyes. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it", he said with a smile. "So what now?"

To which the black eyed Jaegar let out another soft giggle. "Now we eat."

"We?"

"You bought the cake, so it's only fair you get some as well."

"Well okay. Let's head back to the cabin and-"

But before Wave could utter another word, Kurome had leapt up into the air, landing upon the rooftop of a nearby cabin.

"Hey!", Wave yelled, reluctantly following suit. Though unlike his teammate, he took the more mundane means of of doings things and climbed up to the rooftop. And as he got up there, Kurome was patiently waiting for him.

"We could eat inside, you know?", Wave asked before sitting down next to her.

But Kurome shook her head. "You're the one who said this was a vacation. How often do you eat on a roof back in the Capital?"

"What? You eat on rooftops all the time!"

"Never while it was snowing outside!"

* * *

 **[ _. . . Always a party . . ._ ]**

* * *

More than a few hours had passed since Tatsumi and Esdeath's excursion into the upper mountains. Although the sun had set, the village was even livelier than it was during the day. Particularly at the village elder's sizable residence. Not only could lively music be heard playing from within, but many villagers could be seen gleefully walking inside.

Not Seryu, however, who was instead walking towards the cabin to the left of the one she and the other Jaegars were temporarily residing in. Holding Koro on his leash, she walked up to the front door and knocked upon it three times. Within a few seconds, the door opened and Tatsumi could be seen standing on the other side. He was dressed in a formal white sweater and black pants.

" _Oh, it's her"_ , he thought with his usual contempt towards this particular Jaegar.

"Tatsumi!", she said in a pleasant upbeat voice. "Have you seen the commander? As her chaperone, it's my job to make sure she isn't abducted by evil doers."

"Huh. I thought being her chaperone simply meant reminding her when to leave."

"As all the heroes say, justice always comes first!"

"Yeah, well I haven't seen her since we got back from hunting that cockatrice. She got a few drops of its blood on her clothes while killing it. Said she'd get that taken care of before meeting me at the celebration Elder Choro is hosting."

Seryu pounded her fist into the palm of her hand. "Of course! Wave and Kurome went there as well."

"Don't you plan on going?"

The crazed Jaeger shook her head. "If your village is susceptible to attacks from cockatrices, I'd better keep watch just in case!"

With that, Seryu ran towards the village gates, Koro at her side. Tatsumi furiously gritted his teeth at the sight of this. " _That's for the best. I don't know how much longer I could have stayed in her presence without wanting to choke the life out of her."_

He then took a deep breath and exhaled, calming himself down in the process. " _Should probably make my way over there right about now."_

Tatsumi proceeded to step outside of his cabin, closing the door behind him. He walked towards the village elder's residence, making it there in no time. As soon as he stepped inside, he was greeted by a multitude of admirers. Many of whom he had known his entire life. They asked him all sorts of questions regarding his journey to the capital, his relation to the imperial army as well as Esdeath, but the Tatsumi politely dismissed every such inquiry, giving his assurances that he'd be happy to answer them later.

He walked around the room with open curiosity, mentally noting that he had never really step foot in Elder Choro's cabin before. The actual party was taking place in a spacious area similar to a Viking meal hall. To the side of the hall was a modest band playing music. Some people were even dancing to it, though not to the elegant degree the Night Raid assassin had partaken in during his mission in Bestimmung. " _After all those drills Chelsea put me through, you couldn't pay me to dance again_."

"Hey there, Tatsumi!", said an approaching male voice.

The Incursio wielder turned around, nodding his head in a greeting fashion as he saw Wave and Kurome walking up to him. Wave had a glass of punch in his hand whereas Kurome had a chocolate milkshake in hers.

"Nice party", Wave said before taking a sip of his punch.

Tatsumi looked to Kurome and the beverage she had in her hands as well as the bendy straw poked into it. "Where did she get that?"

As expected of her, the black eyed Jaegar responded by possessively holding her milkshake beyond anyone's reach. "Get your own."

Wave reacted to this with a sigh. "I stopped asking that question a long time ago."

"Point taken", Tatsumi replied, chuckling at the blatant personality quirks Kurome shared with her older sister.

Wave scratched his head, a thought having just occurred to him. "Maybe I'm going crazy here, but it feels like I've been going to parties, feasts and social gatherings every other day as of late."

Tatsumi nodded his head. "Now that you mention it, I'm kind of getting that same feeling. Weird, right?"

"I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about it", said a nearby approaching female voice. "Lots of things can happen at a party. Overplayed or not, they're an awfully convenient means of getting from point A to point B so to speak."

Recognizing this voice, Tatsumi turned to greet her, only to be astonished at her appearance. It was Esdeath, except she was looking a bit more feminine than usual. Gone was her imperial general apparel. Instead, she was sporting a radiant sleeveless yellow short dress that faded white around its ruffles. Around her waist was a black ribbon belt and around her shoulders were black shoulder frills. Her trademark general hat was also absent; she instead sported a thin black hairband.

"Whoa . . . commander", said Wave. "Where did you get that?"

To which the Ice Queen smiled appreciatively. "One of the villagers was gracious enough to tailor this for me on short notice. It seems even the slightest association with Tatsumi goes a long way here."

"Mrs. Shurui made that for you?", Tatsumi asked.

"Remarkably talented that one", Esdeath replied after nodding.

Before their conversation could continue, Elder Choro, dressed in formal attire, approached the group of four, his attention primarily focused on Tatsumi. "Ah, it's good to see the guest of honor has finally arrived. This celebration is being thrown on your behalf after all."

"Elder Choro", Tatsumi said, bowing his head and removing a small statue from his pocket. "I meant to return this to you earlier, but here it is."

The elder took the statue from Tatsumi's hands and scrutinized it closely, noting a scratch on the front of it "How did this happen?"

Tatsumi gave off a fairly embarrassed smile while scratching the back of his head. "When I first got into the capital, I got into a bit of a scrape with someone. During the fight, she tried to stab me in the chest. Luckily, I had been carrying that in my chest pocket. It kind of saved my life."

"That was not luck. It was our god protecting you", Elder Choro replied after shaking his head.

"Literally from the sound of it", Kurome added, giggling as she heard this comment.

"Tatsumi", Wave said, getting the other young man's attention. "Can I have a moment with you?"

"Sure", the Night Raid assassin answered.

"Make sure it's only a moment", Elder Choro requested. "I had planned on giving him a toast."

Both of the young men nodded their heads before stepping out into the hallway nearby. After looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, Wave began to speak. "Just what are you doing?!"

"What are you talking about?", Tatsumi responded, not having a clue as to what Wave was referring to.

"Look, I may not be a quote-unquote ladies' man like Run, but even I can see that you're blowing it here."

"I seriously have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about the commander. She doesn't usually wear stuff like that. She may be tough as nails, but she's still a woman at heart. It's pretty obvious that the only reason she's wearing that is because she wanted to look good in front of you."

Tatsumi looked a bit surprise at this explanation, noting it as yet another contrast between the two versions of Esdeath he had come to know. "You may be right, but what's that got to do with me blowing it?"

"You've yet to give her a compliment on how she looks in that dress!"

"You haven't exactly done so either!"

"Well duh! I'm not her boyfriend!"

"Neither am I."

A remark which Wave was a bit taken aback by, not having expected it. "Say what? But I don't understand."

"What's not to understand?"

"Everything! The commander getting requisitions for your village, you waiting here just as she asked, the two of you hunting together earlier. You haven't tried to run away or anything! I thought you two had buried the hatchet."

Tatsumi took a moment to consider how he should respond. " _Right. He doesn't know that I haven't been in the village since I initially left to go to the capital. Nor does he know that I came here fearing what Esdeath might do if she found out the truth. Better just play along."_

"Tatsumi?"

"You've got the wrong idea. All of those things are true, but none of it means we're in a relationship. We're just good friends is all."

"Oh", Wave responded, the tone of his voice indicative of disappointment. "That's too bad. I don't blame you for wanting to run away from her before. She practically kidnapped you and forced you to be around her. That and she's kind of a psychopath – don't tell her I said that!"

"My lips are sealed."

"But, lately, she's been seeming a little more . . . human. I thought you might have had something to do with that."

A description Tatsumi didn't appear surprised about. Rather, he suddenly recalled all the moments he had shared with the Ice Queen throughout the day, especially their innocuous snowball fight.

Sensing that he had made a mistake in pulling Tatsumi to the side like this, Wave gestured his hands back towards the room the party was being held in. "Well, I've taken enough of your time. I'm sure your village elder has that toast ready for you. Shall we head back?"

Tatsumi nodded his head and they both reentered the room, everyone gazing their eyes upon the Night Raid assassin just as soon as he stepped inside. Esdeath, Kurome and all of the villagers present were standing cheerfully with cups in their hands. Whereas Tatsumi stood still at the room's entrance, Wave walked back towards his black eyed companion, grabbed a cup and standing right next to her.

Sensing that everything was finally in place, the village elder held a cup in his hand and began to speak, addressing the entire room. "Tonight I am here to speak to the fantastic qualities of a young man we've all known for many years. One who has always worked tirelessly to give all of us peace of mind; from warding off danger beasts to simpler tasks such as collecting firewood. Tatsumi has always been there for us. Months ago, when it looked like all hope was lost for our fair village, Tatsumi set off towards the capital so that he might earn enough money to help us in our time of need. Now, thanks to Tatsumi, Impertinens is not only saved, but it's better than ever! Never in my life have I seen someone more selfless, more honorable and more virtuous."

Unbeknownst to anyone else in the room, the mere mention of those last three descriptive words felt like a deadly poison to the young assassin. Almost instantly, those words set off thoughts he had been too preoccupied to dwell upon up until this point. That ingrained memory of his, the one with his spear plunged through the Bestimmung ambassador's back, dredged up yet again; this time more painfully than the last. It felt like a heavy weight on his heart, a weight he found himself trapped beneath; a weight he found himself unable to budge.

Klaus Hartmann: The virtuous man whose life Tatsumi had taken. Throughout the Night Raid assassin's mind flashed the various moments of the kindness the ambassador had shown him, contrasted with that final moment where he murdered the man in cold blood. The thought of now being praised as selfless, honorable and virtuous? It filled him with a sense of self-loathing.

"A toast to our very own, Tatsumi!", said Elder Choro as he and everyone else in the room motioned their cups towards the man of the hour. "May you always serve as an example to us all!"

With a frown on his face, Tatsumi looked around the room, unnerved at the praise he was receiving. "Sorry everyone . . . but I'd like to be alone."

Without saying anything else, Tatsumi made an abrupt exit, walking out of the village elder's residence entirely. Needless to say, a wave of confusion swept throughout the entire room; no one understood their hero's sudden change in demeanor.

* * *

 **[ _. . . Beyond logic and reason . . ._ ]**

* * *

Not much time had passed since Tatsumi's sudden departure. The lone Night Raid assassin had returned to his log cabin, having locked the front door before retreating into his bedroom. There, he sat in the silence at the foot end of his bed, contemplating the gravity of his latest assassination mission. He recalled a conversation he had on the very first day he had joined Night Raid.

" _I love it!_ ", Tatsumi had said, having heard Najenda's description of the purpose their assassin organization serves. " _It's like you guys are taking out the trash. Killing off the bad guys one by one. You're a rogue team of assassins for the sake of justice!"_

Leone and almost everyone else in the room had laughed at him. " _Tatsumi, no matter how you describe it, we're still murderers"_

" _And there's no justice to be found in the way we do things"_ , Sheele had added.

Even Bulat had chimed in. _"At any given moment, every one of us could be forced to atone for the blood that we've spilled."_

Only now in the present did Tatsumi fully grasp the gravity of what his comrades had told him. For the first time, he fully understood how naïve he had been back then. And even further, he realized that he had continued to carry this naivety with him, only now it had resulted in the cold blooded death of someone he knew to be a good man. " _Selfless? Honorable? Virtuous? I am none of these things! What was I thinking at that play? I'm no better than Erich!"_

Within the very next moment, he heard someone walking through his front door. A sound he found strange, given that he had locked it. Perhaps if he weren't so dismayed with himself at the moment, he would've been more reactive; instead, Tatsumi merely remained on the foot of his bed as his bedroom door began to open.

He looked up towards the door as it opened, only to see the Ice Queen complacently standing behind it. "If you wanted to hide, Tatsumi, you ought to have adopted a better stratagem. Locking your front door is insufficient against someone who can easily pick locks."

"I wasn't trying to hide", he responded, turning his head down and gloomily gazing his eyes on the floor.

Esdeath's demeanor changed completely at the sight of this; she appeared to be visibly concerned. "I told them you were feeling ill, so you shouldn't have to worry about anyone else barging in. Tell me: What troubles you?"

"No offense, but you're the last person in the world who would understand."

"Try me."

Feeling that he didn't have much to lose, Tatsumi nonetheless carefully considered his next choice of words, not wishing to reveal too much information. "The other day, I . . . did something I know in my heart is wrong."

"So you're feeling guilty about it? What did you do?"

"I killed someone."

"You've never killed anyone before?"

"I have. I've killed many people in fact. It's just that this person . . . he's the first person I didn't honestly think deserved to die."

"Meaning you murdered him."

"That's a blunt way to put it . . . but I yes. I murdered him."

"You say you didn't honestly think he deserved it. Why did you kill this person?"

"I thought it was for the greater good."

"And yet here you are, grieving over what you've done."

"The more I think about it, the more I feel that maybe there was another way. Maybe if I had just talked to him, maybe . . ."

"He's dead. Wallowing in remorse isn't going to change that. He has no one but himself to blame for his death. He didn't die because of you, but because he was weak. That's all there is to it."

"No!", he growled. "Don't you get it? I'm not like you! I don't accept that! I will never accept that!"

Tatsumi's eyes were still gazed upon the floor. He sat there waiting to hear the general retort with her usual rant about survival of the fittest. What he didn't expect was silence. Abject silence.

Indeed, Esdeath didn't say anything. Rather, she kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the bed, positioning herself behind Tatsumi. She then wrapped her arms around him from behind, pulling him into an embrace. Then, in a low toned voice, she said "You were right. I don't understand. Perhaps I never will. It doesn't mean I don't care."

Tatsumi made no efforts to get up, being reminded by that time Sheele comforted him over the loss Sayo and Ieyasu. He found the Ice Queen's touch . . . rather welcoming. Only this felt different somehow; it felt . . . better.

"You and I . . . we're different, Tatsumi. Heaven knows I've tried my hardest to find common ground with you. But the truth couldn't be any clearer: We're like night and day; the two of us are opposites in almost every way. And yet even still, you are never far from thoughts; always embedded within my heart. How strange it is this feeling called love."

Not quite knowing how to respond to what she was saying, Tatsumi remained paused in a daze. All thoughts of what he had done to the Bestimmung ambassador yet again slipped away. Instead, he found himself hanging on the Ice Queen's every word, contrasting her remarks with what Wave said earlier; what he said about her growing sense of humanity. But that wasn't all the young man was thinking about. He couldn't help but notice a peculiar feeling expanding within the fibers of his being. It was a warm, flitting, fluttering feeling in his stomach.

"No matter what happens from here on out, you will always be that boy at the coliseum that stole my heart with his innocent smile. And so you see Tatsumi, regardless of what you may think of me or whether you will ever accept me, I cannot bare to see you grieve."

Hearing these words made Tatsumi's eye's widen, as if there were some sort of internal struggle. All of the positive moments they had shared together, on the island, in the hotspring, on the air manta's back, on the merchant ship and higher up the mountains: They all flashed throughout his mind. " _She's done so many horrible things. If not for her men, bro would still be here . . . and yet I think I'm . . ."_

She continued to hold him in her embrace, the two sitting on the bed silence for another few minutes. The silence continued until Tatsumi finally spoke up. "Esdeath?"

"Yes?", she responded.

He began to blush, not believing what he was about to say. "Since you've gotten here . . . you haven't tried to kiss me."

Esdeath appeared to perplexed, uncertain of why he would mention something like that so randomly. "Didn't I already tell you? The next time we kiss, I want it to be of your own fr-mmmff."

Before she had even realized it, Tatsumi had removed himself from her embrace, turned around and planted his lips against hers. A move which genuinely surprised the Ice Queen. She was a master of psychology, but even her brilliant mind couldn't register what was transpiring; not for a single moment had she even suspected something like this might happen. There was no reason in this moment; there was no logic; there was no hesitation; there was only passion. And as the moment lingered on, her reaction quickly shifted from one of shock to welcoming and passionate acceptance.

With that, there were no more words exchanged between the two. For the remainder of that night, anything else that needed to be said was instead expressed . . . physically.

* * *

 **[ _. . . Kurome's desire . . ._ ]**

* * *

Not much time had passed. Wave and Kurome were walking towards Tatsumi's residence.

"How long do you plan on being here?", Kurome asked.

"Just long enough to see how Tatsumi's doing", Wave replied.

"Didn't you hear the commander? She said she'd take care of it."

"I know, but you saw Tatsumi back there. He looked really bummed out. I'm not sure the commander alone will be enough. I just want to check up on him; make sure he's all right."

As the two Jaegars continued to approach Tatsumi's cabin, they noticed the light from the bedroom window immediately go out; it had been the only light that appeared to be on within the entire cabin, but it was now off. They both continued to walking, approaching the front door. There, they immediately noticed that the door handle was covered in a thick sheet of ice. Wave scratched his head at the sight. "That's odd."

Kurome smirked. "Looks like someone doesn't want to be disturbed."

To which Wave nodded. "No kidding. Shall we head back to the party?"

"Nah, I've had my fill."

And so they walked back to their cabin, a short walk in light of it being next to Tatsumi's. As they made it back inside, they noticed that the fireplace was lit and that Run was sitting across it on the couch with his book in his hand. He briefly looked up towards his two comrades. "You guys back already?"

Wave shrugged his shoulders "What can I say; we're kind of burned out on dinner parties."

"I see. And where's the commander?"

"She's at Tatsumi's place."

"It's safe to say we won't be seeing her again until the morning", Kurome chimed in before heading into the kitchen.

Run gave a knowing smirk upon hearing that tid bit of information. "Interesting."

"Have you really been reading that all day?", Wave said, taking a seat at the couch next to his fellow Jaegar.

To which Run nodded. "I'm actually on my second read. It's even better the second time through."

"Never knew you were such a bookworm."

"You pretty much have to be if you want to teach a room full of students on a daily basis. Children can be unruly at times, but once you start catering to their imagination, it's much easier to bring out their potential to excel."

Wave nodded his head, though with a bittersweet smile. "Bol's daughter. Do you think that's how she got so good at the piano?"

"We've talked about this", Run sighed. "Stop blaming yourself; it wasn't your fault. He died a heroic death. Leave it be and move on."

"I'm sorry, but if I were to say that, I'd be lying to myself. I stopped Night Raid from killing the witch who put us in that situation in the first place. Had I not been so presumptive, had I just let them kill her, that little girl would still have her father. Don't you see? It was my fault. I . . ."

But before he could utter another word, Kurome reentered the room with the remaining pieces of the chocolate cake from earlier as well as some forks and napkins. She looked particularly cheerful. "There's still some left!"

Run proceeded to get up from the couch, smiling as if to pretend that nothing was wrong. "I think I'll retire for the night. Why don't you and Wave enjoy that together?"

"Goodnight!", Kurome said as Run left the room. She then took a seat next to Wave while setting the box of cake on the coffee table in front of them.

"I'm surprised you hadn't already eaten the rest", Wave noted, no doubt an attempt to change the subject.

The black eyed girl grabbed a slice of cake; the pieces were precut, making a knife unnecessary. "I did say I'd share. But if you don't want any, speak now or forever hold your peace!"

"No, I think I will have some", Wave responded, grabbing a slice of his own.

Amidst chewing on her slice, Kurome could not help but notice a small portrait of three young people sitting above the fireplace. "Why is there a picture with Tatsumi here and who are those two people with him?"

"I had talked to the village elder earlier. Believe it or not, this house used to belong to two siblings, both of whom were very close to Tatsumi."

"Used to?"

"Yeah. They had both apparently accompanied Tatsumi to the Capital a while back, but ended up getting killed by bandits I think."

"How sad. If the siblings both died, that means neither was able to protect the other."

To which Wave sighed. "I guess that's one way of looking at it.

"It's the only way."

"Is that how you see things with your sister?"

She nodded her head. "I will protect my sister no matter what."

The look on Wave's face was one of confusion and concern. "Kurome . . . you know that if you end up fighting your sister, one of you will die no matter what the outcome."

But to Wave's surprise, saying that only managed to spark a grin on the young girl's face. Not like the grins she had throughout the conversations earlier, but one that was dripping with . . . instability. "You've got it all wrong. With Yatsufasa, I can protect sis once and for all without either of us dying!"

"No. Listen Kurome, we will need to fight Akame and Night Raid sooner or later, but when it comes down to it, let me do it, alright? I'll face Akame."

"Just why would I let you do that? If you face her, there's a good chance either you or she will die. Whereas if I face her-"

"Just stop it, Kurome!", he spat. "Are you listening to yourself? Your puppets are not alive! If you fight Akame and win, you'll be killing your own sister. At least if I do it, you won't have to live with that!"

Eerily enough, Kurome started to cackle, quickly picking up her Imperial Arm and slightly unsheathing it in the process. "Not alive you say? Nonsense! Even as we speak, I hear the voices of every one of my puppets whispering in my ear, thanking me for protecting them. If they weren't alive, could they do that? Just wait, I'll be hearing Akame's whispering voice throughout my days. We'll finally be together again!"

The sight of this left Wave visibly troubled. He had never seen this side of Kurome before. The Kurome he knew was never so unhinged. Just what was wrong with her, he wondered. "Kurome . . ."

"Oh but don't worry, Wave! I'll protect you as well! I'll protect everyone I care about. As long as you're all with me, what happened to Bols will never happen to any of you! Won't that be wonderful?! WON"T IT?!" She let out a deranged laugh, troubling her companion to no end as he watched. Even more peculiar, however, was that despite her uncontrolled laughter, tears had begun rolling down her cheeks.

"Kurome . . .", he softly said before wrapping both of his arms around her and pulling her into an embrace. Her laughter softened as he did this, eventually coming to a pause.

* * *

 **[ _. . . Tatsumi's ruse . . ._ ]**

* * *

And so went an eventful night full of bonding and surprises. It was yet again morning however. Needless to say, this sort of morning was a first for Tatsumi. He opened his eyes at the crack of dawn, immediately wondering whether the events of last night were merely a dream. After all, what happened wasn't something he ever imagined himself doing. It all came so suddenly and impulsively.

Still laying there in his bed, he turned his head ever so slightly, curious to see whether he'd see someone else laying alongside him beneath the covers. Though alas, no one was there. In fact, that side of the bed was perfectly made up, neither the blanket nor the pillow in disarray.

He then casually got out of the bed and walked towards his closet. Wearing nothing but his boxers, he'd need to put something on soon given the cold weather. He grabbed his standard attire: His white, high collar jacket, his tan sweater vest, and a pair of black pants and combat boots.

Tatsumi was about to make his way to his bathroom, no doubt to take a shower and brush his teeth. That was when he heard sounds coming from his kitchen. Someone was clearly cooking something on the stove. Without thinking, he dropped his clothes and ran into the kitchen to see who was there, only to be utterly shocked at who it was.

"Morning Tatsumi!", cheerfully said the Ice Queen with a spatula in her hand. Interestingly enough, she was clad in nothing but one of Tatsumi's tan sweater vests' and a pair of loose fitting panties.

" _So then last night actually happened?"_ , he thought, not knowing what to make of this scene.

"Something my wrong, my love? You look like you've seen a ghost."

He shook his head. "Nothing wrong. It's just . . . hey, that's one of my sweaters!"

"Now I see why you like wearing this all the time. It's surprisingly comfortable."

"And your clothes aren't?"

"Not exactly.", she said with a complacent smirk. "My general attire is more about reminding others who is in control or who they should fear. Both very effective in the heat of battle."

"That's . . . good to know I guess. By the way, since when do you cook?"

"Oh this? To be honest, this will be the first meal I've ever prepared for someone else. During our last meeting, you cooked for me. I've decided it's only fair I return the favor."

"Your first meal?!", Tatsumi responded, clearly flabbergasted. "Maybe I should . . ."

"That won' be necessary", Esdeath interrupted. "You just go ahead and wash up. Breakfast will be ready when you return."

And Tatsumi did just that, walking back to his bathroom and preparing to clean himself up. After taking a brief hot shower and brushing his teeth, he proceeded to put on his clothes. Just as he was about to put on his white high collar jacket, he noticed something slip out of one of the pocket. It was a blue rose. Not just any blue rose, but the one of the merchants handed him on that ship he and Esdeath had saved from an uncanny band pirates. Tatsumi leaned down to pick it up. " _I still have this?._ "

With that, he put on his jacket and headed back into the kitchen. There was a plate of eggs and bacon at the kitchen table . . . only the texture of the dish was a bit blacker than desired. Tatsumi cringed at his plate as he took a seat.

The Ice Queen, however, appeared to be cheerfully oblivious. "Enjoy!"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Tatsumi proceeded to grab a fork and take a bite out of the eggs before him. Just as soon they touched his tongue, his taste buds informed him that what he was eating may as well have been charcoal. The assassin had nonetheless grown quite skilled at keeping his composure and thus gave away no sign of displeasure as he ate the eggs and the bacon. Rather, like a patronizing parent humoring a toddler who had just drawn a horrendous looking picture, he lied through his teeth. "Mmmmm. This is delicious! I don't think I've ever tasted anything better in my life!"

"Really? You think so? In that case, I'll have to remember to cook for you more often!"

" _Me and my big mouth."_

"You slept so peacefully last night."

"Did I?"

She nodded her head while blushing. "The way you drifted off with your arms around my waist was . . . pleasant."

Tatsumi averted his gaze, his eyes drifting to the side. He too began to blush. "Yeah . . . I guess it was."

Before they could continue talking, someone could be heard knocking the front door. As if knowing who was there already, Esdeath got up walked to said door and peaked it open, simultaneously removing the ice that had been covering the door handle. She opened the door just enough to reveal her head to the person outside. "What is it?", she said impatiently to the outside visitor.

It was Seryu standing on the other side. "Just as you requested commander, I've come to remind you that it's time to leave!"

Esdeath sighed in frustration. "Very well. Retrieve my uniform from the local tailor. Mrs. Shurui, if I recall correctly. Then inform the other Jaegars we'll be leaving within the next 20 minutes."

Seryu gave a quick and firm salute. "Will do!"

The Ice Queen walked back into the kitchen. "Tatsumi, it seems our time together has once again been cut short by my duties. But don't worry. If all goes as planned, this will be the last time that happens. Once I've dealt with Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army, you will have all of my undivided attention."

Having said that, she headed into the bathroom, no doubt intent upon taking a shower. Tatsumi, meanwhile, remained in his seat, dismayed by the general's words. " _No . . . I can't let that happen. There must be some other way._ "

A few minutes passed and someone could be yet again heard knocking at the door. This time Tatsumi got up to answer it. Upon opening it, he saw Seryu on the other side, with Esdeath's general hat and uniform folded up in her hands. "Just as the commander requested, I have retrieved her uniform!"

"That was fast", Tatsumi noted as he took the Ice Queen's outfit out from the auburn haired Jaegar's hands.

"When it comes to speed, justice has no equal!", she responded, upbeat as ever. "Be sure to let the commander know we'll all be waiting by the village gate!"

Tatsumi nodded his head and closed the door. He then began walking towards the bathroom, inspecting Esdeath's general attire as he did. It had clearly been freshly ironed and dry cleaned. " _Mrs. Shurui really knows her stuff. Not a single stain of that danger beast's blood._ " Then, at that very instant, an idea popped into the young man's head. " _Wait . . . blood. Danger beast blood?! That's it! Why didn't I think of that before?! It solves everything!"_

He ran up to the bathroom, impatiently knocking on it several times. In response to this, Esdeath opened the door, freshly showered, but wearing absolutely nothing. "Excellent, my outfit. And it looks as good as new. I might just have to conscript Mrs. Shurui into my employ."

Tatsumi blushed and modestly turned his head away. "T-t-towel! There are towels on the counter there!"

"So there are", she said, grabbing one of the towels. She proceeded to begin using it to dry her hair.

"Aren't you going to cover up?", he asked, his head still turned away.

She nonetheless found his timidity amusing, giggling about it without discretion. "You certainly weren't this conservative last night."

"That was different!"

The Ice Queen shrugged her shoulders and wrapped her towel around herself, covering everything from her chest to her upper thighs. "There. Happy?"

"There's something I want to ask you", he said, having turned his head back towards her.

Esdeath grabbed a brush out from one of the bathroom drawers and began to brush her hair. "Ask away."

"You want someone to push you to your limits. You want a worthy opponent, right?"

"Of course. That goes without saying, doesn't it?"

"If I told you where you could find one, what would you do?"

"That's simple.", she said ever so smugly. "I would immediately seek out this opponent so that we might do battle at once!"

"You would immediately do that? But what about your duties as a general?"

"My desire for a worthy adversary comes first and foremost. After all, that's why I joined the army in the first place."

"Then you're in luck. I know of an opponent that will give you the fight of your life!"

"Oh? Now you've piqued my curiosity. Tell me more."

"What do you know about the omega class danger beasts?"

"A mere fairytale. Despite the stories surrounding them, they don't actually exist. There have been no credible reported encounters with them throughout the entirety of Imperial history."

Tatsumi shook his head, a smirk appearing on his face as he did this. "They're real."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Because I saw one myself with my own eyes when I was in Bestimmung a while back. It was the one they call Hastur."

"Hastur? Did you actually engage the creature?"

"No. It left the area before I could get any closer. I saw where it went though."

"Ha! Do you know what this means, Tatsumi?!" The look in her eyes was the very same look of a child on Christmas morning. "A real live Omega danger beast! They're said to make Ultra class look like bugs in comparison! At last, I'll have a true challenge! You must take me to this place where you saw the beast. You must!"

"Sure, I'll do that. But on one condition."

"Name it!", she said, barely able to contain her excitement.

"If I take you, I only want the two of us to go. No one else, including the Jaegars. They'll all stay in the Grand Empire while we're gone. Deal?"

"Deal. I wouldn't want anyone else to get in the way of the first proper challenge I've ever had anyway. I'll just inform the Jaegars to go on ahead without me. Meanwhile, you and I can head for Bestimmung immediately. My pet will get us there in no time!"

"Well . . .", he said, a hint of hesitation in his voice. "Maybe we should wait."

"Why?"

" _I should let the rest of Night Raid know about this before we head out."_

"Something wrong?"

"No, it's just that I'd rather take care of a few things before we go. How about this: Lets meet outside the Imperial palace a week from now. We can go then."

"I'd much rather go now but after a night like last night. . .", she said before leaning in close and flirtatiously whispering in his ear. "I suppose I can be a little more . . . accommodating from now on."

Tatsumi simply blushed, still unused to having these kinds of interactions with someone.

"Alright then, Tatsumi. One week it is. Outside the palace. That's where we'll meet."

He nodded his head, grinning from ear to ear. Though the Ice Queen didn't know what she was agreeing to, Tatsumi understood everything, overcome with a pleasant sense of relief. " _It's finally over. With Esdeath out of the way, the Revolutionary Army can better plan an attack on the Capital. As soon as we get back, it won't matter what she thinks. She'll no longer have a prime minister to serve. He'll be long dead and the Revolutionary Army will have already won. What's more, we'll never have to fight!"_

* * *

 **[. . . _Premonition_ . . .]**

* * *

Having finally gotten dressed back into her normal attire, the Ice Queen made her way to the village gates. There, her four Jaegars were waiting patiently. Tatsumi accompanied her, intent on seeing them all off.

Esdeath promptly removed a whistle from her coat pocket, blowing upon it after placing the mouthpiece on her lips. Whatever sounds the instrument produced were obviously so high pitched, that only something with highly acute hearing would be able to respond. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, her pet dragon swooped down onto the ground nearby, letting out a loud screech as it landed. And as soon as it did this, the Ice Queen proceeded to walk towards her pet, preparing to mount herself on its saddle.

"Wait", Tatsumi said, removing something from his coat pocket and handing it to Esdeath. It was the blue rose the Night Raid assassin had stumbled upon earlier.

"What's this?", she said, closely inspecting the item.

He once again averted his gaze, lightly blushing as he did so. "Look, I'm still no good at this sort of thing . . . but I want you to have it."

Esdeath returned his blush with a blush of her own, appearing quite touched at the gesture. She quickly encased the rose within a small block of ice before stashing it away in her coat pocket. "I'm not usually one for this sort of sentimental practice myself, but in this instance, I will treasure this . . . always."

To which Tatsumi happily nodded his head. "Guess I'll see you later then."

"Indeed", she said with a cheerful smile. "Until next time."

With that, Esdath hopped onto the back of her beast, promptly soaring off into the air without another moment's notice. Promptness which caused Run to shrug his shoulders, uncertain of what to make of his commander not having said a word to him or the other Jaegars. "I suppose that's our cue to leave."

Wave turned his attention to Tatsumi, teasingly grinning at him as he did so. "What was all that stuff last night about me having the wrong idea?"

Tatsumi of course, found himself unable to offer up any words in his defense. After all, what could he say after such a display of affection? Instead, he grinned as well, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment.

Waving his hand goodbye, Wave walked away, each of the other Jaegars following suit. Tatsumi simply stood there, gazing at the sight of this. Just the look on the Night Raid assassin's face revealed how pleased he was with how the events over the last 24 hours had played out. Perhaps things were finally looking up.

Tatsumi's demeanor didn't go unnoticed however. "I'm pleased to see you're back in good spirits", said the village elder as he approached him from the side. "Especially after last night."

"Let's just say things have changed since last night, Elder Choro."

"Perhaps moreso than you know."

Tatsumi suddenly shifted his gaze back to his village elder, a perplexed look on his face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Last night, I had a vivid premonition. You walk a dangerous path. More than you realize. Be wary, Tatsumi, for there is one amongst that group you should fear moreso than anyone else. For one day, that one will go on to become your greatest enemy."

"I know she's dangerous, but Esdeath is-"

"Esdeath?", the village elder asked before shaking his head. "No, she wasn't the one in my premonition. It was the one they called . . . Wave."

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** And there you have it, folks! The long awaited romance chapter! Some of you were really looking forward to this, thus I hope I haven't left you disappointed! Just wait though! You'll soon understand the method to my madness!

At any rate, another chapter out of the way! By my calculations, we've got 7 more chapters left in this series. For anyone interested in the dress Esdeath was wearing at that party, go to FFN forum (see the link in my profile) and the click on the relevant link in the "Whims" topic.

Thoughts? Hate it? Love it? Meh? Feel free to favorite, follow or leave a review! Lemme know what you think of this eigth chapter in this _Down a different branch_ AKG installment. Till next time! :D


	9. Kill the Turning Point

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 **A/N:** Yosh! We've once again made our way to another new chapter! Just as promised, the next chapter ladies and gentleman without another month passing.

#1. As always, thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows. alanvaldez, your bribes are accepted! But seriously, thanks for the kind words. I'll do my best to try and not let any of you down.

#2. Seems the manga is hitting its final stretch. The last chapter was interesting I guess. It once again showed us Esdeath's human side, albeit briefly. I wonder what the author intends to do with the character. Doubt it's what I've got in mind! Seems he also intends to use the Emperor in the same fashion the anime did. A mistake I think, but we'll see!

#3. As always, don't make assumptions. Be patient. There's always a method to my madness!

Without further ado . . .

* * *

 _ **Updated 1/19/17 - Fixed prose and grammatical errors.**_

* * *

 _ **Episode 22: Kill the Turning Point**_

Many years ago, the Grand Empire was a very different place. There was no Revolutionary Army at that time; there wasn't a need for one. There was a different prime minister back then as well as a different emperor. A wise and diligent one who cared greatly for his people.

The culture was also different before the days of Prime Minister Honest. For example, the Path of Peace and its teachings held a much greater influence throughout the land. Although many didn't subscribe to the religion itself, most people unabashedly subscribed to its teachings about peace, love and honor. So much so that one of its cathedrals was readily welcomed in the Capital.

On one bright and pleasant day, the Path of Peace's leader, the Lord, had just finished giving a motivational sermon to a sizable group of people, nobles and common folk alike. They had all gotten up from their pews and headed out of the cathedral's front doors, many voicing their astonishment's with the Lord's wisdom as they walked out. The Lord had begun walking towards his office when a young girl, no older than eight, with short silver hair and purple eyes approached him. With a warm smile on his face, the religious leader affectionately patted the girl on the head. "How were your studies today, Najenda?"

"The professor wants me to move up another two grades!", she said, her smile full of innocence.

"Again?", the Lord replied, awed by the little girl's accomplishment. "If you keep this up, you'll be attending Manfred University by your birthday."

To which the little girl eagerly shook her head in disagreement. "I've decided I don't want to go there anymore!"

"Is this true, my child? But I thought you had your heart set on going there."

"Lieutenant General Budo stopped by my classroom today. He said he was impressed with my academic achievements and thinks I'd do extraordinarily well serving in the imperial military."

"Najenda, work in the military is fairly dangerous. What happened to wanting to become a minister?"

"I wanted to become a minister so that I could help you help people. But Lieutenant General Budo tells me I would be helping you and everyone in our country if I were to join the military."

The religious leader crouched down to the little girl's height, wrapping his arms around her as he did so. "Well, I can't say I'm thrilled with your decision, but if it makes you happy, I'll gladly support it. Just make sure to at least finish your studies first, alright?"

Najenda nodded her head, returning the Lord's embrace as she did so. "I will."

Seventeen years had passed since that day; those days of yesteryear were long forgotten. In the present, near the southern borders of the Grand Empire, was a large island shrouded by a thick cloud of mist. The island itself contained several unique structures. There were 4 towers, each 10 stories in height; they each sat on the island's four corners. In the center of the island sat a sizable castle-like fortress seven stories in height. Surrounding the fortress was a massive encampment, equipped with thousands of tents suitable for soldiers. Throughout the encampment walked thousands of battle-ready men, all donned in Revolutionary Army uniforms and armed with rifles.

Both Najenda and the Lord were present inside the fortress, roaming the hallways while conversing with one another. Susannoo walked behind them, keeping a close eye on his master at all times.

"Once our troops have converged with the supporting troops Bestimmung has agreed to lend us, they can immediately converge into the Northern Frontier lands and eliminate the forces General Esdeath left there", said the Lord, speaking in an uncharacteristically calculating demeanor. "That should open the capital up to a devastating flank from behind."

"Right", Najenda responded. "In theory, they'll be too focused on the attacks we intend to launch from the front, provided we already have our support from Reispan and Ali Jinnah accompanying our forces. It'll be an effective three-way assault."

The religious leader appeared to be visibly amused by the Night Raid leader's remark. "In theory? Has my prodigious child detected a flaw in my plans?"

Najenda rubbed her chin. "I wouldn't call it a flaw so much as I would raise it as a concern."

"And what concerns you?"

"I think you might be underestimating Esdeath a tad too much. You don't know her like I do. She practically lives for adverse situations like the one we intend to inflict upon the Capital. If we're not careful, she might be the one who catches us by surprise."

"I've heard tales of that woman's brilliance, but I think you're forgetting the fact that she is just one woman."

"She may be just one woman, but she's the sole reason we've had to resort to a strategy like this one in the first place. If it were just Budo, we wouldn't need to rely on the aid of the other countries. I won't feel safe about our chances of taking the Capital until she's a bloody corpse."

"Budo, eh? I'm still surprised that new Incursio user of yours actually bested him in combat. Certainly increases our chances against the Capital. If only I had known you had someone that talented under your wing much sooner."

"I knew he had talent, but I never would've imagined he'd be able to best Budo of all people in single combat at such a young age. If we could work with him for just a few more years, I'm sure he'd be a match for Esdeath."

"Unfortunately, with the Prime Minister ruling it, the Grand Empire corrodes more and more every day. We can't afford to spare even another year, much less several. Our attack must be swift and it must be soon."

"Indeed. I've already notified my subordinates to be present at tonight's strategy meeting in the war room. Everyone is here except Tatsumi."

"Where is he?"

"He had another matter to attend to, but Leone and Lubbock have told me that Tatsumi will be arriving here sometime this evening."

"Good. Tonight is not a night I'd want any of your subordinates to miss."

"That goes without saying", Najenda nonchalantly said before lighting a cigarette and placing the mouth end in her mouth.

A sight which made the Lord sigh. "You know that's bad for your lungs, right?"

She casually pulled the cylinder roll of tobacco out of her mouth, puffing smoke out as she did. "You know I'm 25 years old, right?

But the religious leader would have none of that; he snatched the cigarette out of her hand without another moment's notice.

"Hey!", Najenda exclaimed, a tad bit annoyed. "Have you forgotten your own teachings? What happened to "Often times, peace is best achieved by minding thine own's affairs?"

"Ah my child, but you overlook the words 'often times.' Those words are operative in construing the true meaning of that passage. The path of peace also teaches us that 'a daughter's comfort is often found in the watchful eyes of a loving father."

She rolled her eyes. "Comfort isn't a word I'd used to describe this moment."

To which the Lord chuckled. "You're stressed; I understand. It's still not too late to start looking for a husband. I just happen to know several strapping young lads amongst our recruits and-"

"Oh no you don't!", Najenda replied, dismissively waving her hand. "First, we're in the middle of a war. Love is the last thing that should be on any of our minds. Second, we've been down this road before. You always pick musclebound air heads incapable of even having a descent conversation."

"In regards to your first point, love is not some distraction that will cost us a battle; it is a strength that motivates us towards success, not to mention true peace with oneself. In regards to your second point, perhaps if you'd give any of your suitors a chance beyond a single glance at them, they might surprise you; looks can be deceiving after all."

"When the time comes, I'll find someone for myself. That time is clearly not today though!"

* * *

 **[ _. . . Undercover . . ._ ]**

* * *

Back in the capital, well within the Imperial Palace, the emperor was sitting on his throne, holding his golden scepter like usual. His most trusted adviser, Prime Minister Honest, stood next him while gnawing on a roasted turkey leg, only to be interrupted by the sight by one of the underling imperial court officials addressing the entire room.

"Your majesty!", said the official. "Great General Budo has returned!"

"So the stubborn bastard finally returned?", Honest muttered to himself, visibly indifferent to the general's well being.

The emperor, however, appeared to be overjoyed with the news. "Send him in at once!"

Without further delay, the great general entered the room, setting off a series of whispers and silent speculation amongst those present as to where he had been since his mission to Bestimmung two weeks ago. Budo nonetheless brushed such talk aside, instead walking towards the Emperor's throne with the usual aura of focus and solemnity that enveloped his demeanor. Just as he was within several feet of the young and naive emperor, he kneeled on one knee and bowed his head, uttering the words "I have returned, your majesty."

"When we didn't hear back from you, I must admit that I was rather worried", said the young ruler, graciously nodding his head. "It's good to see you're safe and sound."

On the other hand, Honest was a bit more skeptical, rubbing the whiskers on his beard as he observed the great general. "Yes, but the fact remains that we didn't hear back from you for over two weeks. That's not like you, Budo. Your actions have stirred about all sorts rumors. Nasty rumors at what. Tell us why we are just now hearing from you."

"Be careful, minister", the general responded, the aggression in his voice rather clear. "I won't have you questioning my loyalty to his majesty. Your attention is better suited towards the Revolutionary Army."

An answer which made the prime minister narrow his eyes. " _Impudent bastard. Who does he think he's talking to? As soon as he's outlived his usefulness . . ._ "

Oblivious of Honest' distaste for the great general, the emperor continued to address him with the utmost politeness. "General Budo, speaking of the Revolutionary Army, has General Esdeath gotten you up to speed on the latest phase in her plans? You've been gone for a while, so I think you-"

"Now now, your highness, that's some top secret information", the Honest courteously interrupted. "Much too important to freely be speaking about it out in the open, even if we are in your throne room"

To which the emperor nodded his head, graciously happy that his most trusted adviser was present to keep him from making such a mistake. "Oh. Yes, you're right. But then how are we going to inform General Budo about it?"

"That shouldn't be a problem. General Budo was already briefed about the basics of General Esdeath's plan weeks ago when she revealed it. He simply doesn't know where it will be executed. I have already taken the liberty of ordering my son to rendezvous with Esdeath himself some time tonight. His imperial arm makes this a simple task. Budo here can simply go with him."

"That's an excellent idea!", the emperor expressed enthusiastically.

Budo rose to his feet, now gazing upon the emperor face to face "As you wish, your majesty. But where might I find the Prime Minister Honest's son?"

To which Honest replied "He's currently residing in the room at the end of the hallway on the south east royal wing upstairs. Just be certain to knock on the door loud enough for him to hear you. Knowing him, he'll probably be engaged in one of his 'hobbies'."

With that, the Budo turned away from the imperial throne and treaded out of the room. He made his way to an extravagant courtyard like area. Upon stepping within this vicinity, he looked around, attempting to determine whether anyone else was in sight. Sensing that he was alone, the great general poofed into a girl with auburn hair and pink eyes, revealing herself to be Night Raid's shapeshifting assassin in disguise.

" _Looks like Najenda was right to have me stay behind after all. Whatever Esdeath has planned, it must be big if the Prime Minister won't even address it in the throne room. Better see what I can dig up on this first before paying his son a visit."_

* * *

 **[ _. . . And so he goes . . ._ ]**

* * *

Elsewhere, thirty miles south east to the Shiranami mountains was a farm consisting of some crops, a small house, a barn and a windmill next to it. A farmer appeared to be plowing a garden nearby, only to stop as he noticed something speedily approaching him from the distance. It was an armored humanoid figure in the distance running towards him at inhuman speed.

Upon getting within multiple yards of the farmer, the armored figured came to screeching halt, planting its feet in the ground to cancel out its momentum.

"I'd recognize that armor anywhere", said the farmer as he gazed upon the figure. "You're the one of the assassin's with Night Raid; the one who uses Incursio."

To which the Incursio wielder nodded his head. "That's me."

"Good to meet you!", the farmer said, shaking the assassin's hand. "What brings you here today?"

"I need to get to the Revolutionary Army's main base and am in need of transportation."

"Yes sir!", the farmer answered. "All Night Raid assassins have level 10 clearance. I'll prepare an air manta immediately. Just give me one moment."

The farmer walked into the barn and came back out after several minutes with an air manta hovering behind him. "Due to a mental geis casted upon me, I am unable to speak of the location of our hidden base. I can, however, assure you that this one will get you there within eleven hours should you fly nonstop."

"Eleven hours, eh? What time is it right now? Do you know?"

To which the farmer responded after looking down at his wrist watch. "10:30 am."

"Then I don't have a lot of time. I'd better head out immediately!", said the young assassin as he hopped on the back of air manta that had been brought on for him. "Thanks!"

"Don't mention it! All for the revolution!"

Giving the farmer a wave goodbye, the Night Raid assassin bolted off into the sky with the air manta he had been given and began to fly south towards his destination. Seeing no further need to remain in his armored state, he reverted back to his regular form, his brown hair, green eyes, white high collar jack and yellow sweater vest yet again being visible. With nothing else to think about, he recalled the events that had transpired earlier in the morning just before he had left his village.

" _Tatsumi, must you really leave so soon? Stay a little longer. At least another night"_ , the village elder had to said to him as he was preparing to once again depart.

But Tatsumi had politely shaken his head. " _No, I need to go_."

" _Why? You've already saved the village? What else do you need to do_?"

" _I . . . can't tell you right now, but it's extremely important you. As soon I've finished . . . as soon as it's all over, I'll come back and I swear I'll tell you everything_."

" _I see. Does it involve that Esdeath woman?"_

Tatsumi gave a soft and immediate smile in response. " _Sort of."_

" _It's the strangest thing. Yesterday, you seemed a bit uneasy about that woman. Something is different now though. Am I to assume that you have finally become a man?"_

" _Hey!"_ , Tatsumi fired back incredulously, a blush on his face as he did. " _What the hell kind of question is that?!"_

Elder Choro had been taken aback by the young man's reaction. " _I don't mean to offend you, but what else is one to assume when someone spends the night with a gorgeous woman like that?_ "

" _How did you even know she spent the night at my cabin anyway?"_

The village elder had then pointed to a skin blemish on the assassin's neck. " _Where did this mark come from? It wasn't there when you were at the party last night? Back in my hey-day, we called this sort of marking a hickey._ "

Tatsumi had quickly reached the mark himself, rubbing it with his hand as he did so. " _Dammnit. I told her not to go overboard with that!"_

" _It's sounds like you have your hands full in dealing with that woman",_ said the village elder amidst his own laughter.

The young assassin had sighed. " _You don't know the half of it."_

" _I suppose I don't. Perhaps when you return, you both can fill me in on the remaining details."_

Back in the present, Tatsumi continued to soar through the clouds, steadily holding onto his air manta as he did so. "The remaining details, huh? I'm not even sure I know them all yet."

* * *

 **[ _. . . Downtime . . ._ ]**

* * *

Within one of the many chambers in the Revolutionary Army's island fortress was a rest lounge of sorts. Although the décor in the room was medieval, it still had a number of comforting modern innovations. There were several polyester couches, one resting alongside each of the room's four walls. For entertainment purposes, a pool table was positioned in the center of the chamber. Last but not least, the room came equipped with a well-stocked mini bar. An innovation which Leone had already taken for granted.

Indeed, the feral assassin was occupying one of the room's couches to herself, lying on it while rubbing her head with one hand and holding a bottle of whiskey in the other. She appeared to be in a bleary state, muttering to herself in a daze.

Lubbock, meanwhile, was casually playing a one-man game of pool, delicately in the process of lining up his next shot. His attention, shifted away from the table, however, as he noticed Mein and Akame entering the room. "Back already?", he asked, evidently not having expected them to arrive at that moment.

"There's not a single shop on the entire island!", Mein said, a hint of irritation in her voice.

"What did you expect?", Lubbock replied, his attention slowly shifted back to his pool game. "This is more or less a military base. Why would there be any shops in the encampment?"

"It's called mercantile, genius! And with as many people as there are on this island, you'd think the Revolutionary Army would have enough sense to bring some along. A steady stream of wares available to the soldiers and a steady stream of income to the merchants. It's good business."

"Maybe in an ordinary military encampment, you'd have a point", Akame chimed in. "But the Revolutionary Army is different. I've heard the Lord has taken ample steps to insure that this island remains hidden from the Grand Empire, even going as far as inflicting some kind of mental geis on every single recruit. Thus I'd imagine he wouldn't even consider giving the location to mere merchants."

Just the look alone on Mein's face revealed that she didn't buy her comrade's explanation. "Then he should just get some trustworthy merchants! Or have them undergo whatever this 'mental geis' is. There's still no excuse! "

Lubbock swiftly fired one of the striped billiard balls into one of the corner pockets on the pool table, clearly not too invested in the conversation. "Look. We're all going to that 'strategy meeting' the Lord is having in a few hours. Feel free to complain to him about your shopping needs then. If you're lucky, he might tune you out after five seconds instead of two."

"What did you say?!", Mein growled.

Hearing all of the commotion, Leone began to tussle and turn as she remained on the couch. "Hey hey. Not so loud, Mein. Some of us are trying to sleep."

Not willing to clam up, the genius sniper averted her gaze to straight to Leone, a look of disapproval and incredulity in her eyes. "Trying to sleep?! It's 4:30 in the afternoon!"

"That early?", Leone responded, her voice quite groggy. "Wake me up in a few hours. That's when the party begins."

Mein walked up to her feral comrade, shaking her back and forth by the shoulders upon getting close "What the hell are you even talking about?!"

To which Lubbock responded, still focusing on lining up his shots. "Just leave her alone and let her sober up. That way, she doesn't embarrass the hell out of Miss Najenda by showing up to the strategy meeting stone drunk.

"Najenda Najenda Najenda" Leone groggily muttered out loud. "Why don't you just bend her over the counter and plough her already?"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that", Lubbock said, trying as hard as he could to focus on the pool table.

Leone nonetheless continued "Tonight is the night, Lubbock! The night you give new meaning to the term ass-ass-in! The night you have your danger beast ransack her village! It's the night she rides your air manta! The night you cross-tail her tail! The night you show her your trump card! The night you prime her minister! The night she goes down on your different branch!"

Unwilling to even entertain any of her . . . colorful remarks, Lubbock merely sighed. "You done yet?"

"The night you Akame her kill!", Leone shouted, before seemingly passing out.

The green haired assassin fired another striped billiard ball into a corner pocket "As you can see, THAT's what I've been putting up with since you two went out shopping. You're welcome."

"What do you suppose that last one is supposed to mean?", Akame asked while scratching her head.

To which Mein shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever it is, it's only meant to make sense in her drunken mind."

"Trust me. She's got a million of 'em", Lubbock added.

Not willing to let this particular line of conversation die so easily, Mein crossed her arms and remarked, "She kind of has a point though. The boss isn't getting any younger and there's never any telling what's going to happen tomorrow in our profession."

Preferring to avoid this discussion though, Lubbock fired yet another billiard ball into one of the pool table's corner pockets. "I'm working on it. I just need to find the perfect moment."

"How about tonight?", Akame asked.

Lubbock shook his head in disapproval. "Tonight couldn't be any further from perfect. She's too focused on planning the ins and outs of the upcoming battle with the Capital."

"When is the boss NOT busy focusing on her job?", Mein asked. "It sounds like you're just scared of getting turned down."

An accusation which tLubbock didn't appear to be unnerved by. "You make it sound as if I'm being irrational. Who wouldn't be scared of getting turned down by someone they've had their eyes on their entire life?"

But Mein didn't buy that answer, quickly rolling her eyes in response. "You ARE being irrational, stupid. And it's not because you're scared, but because you can't see the big picture. If something happens to the boss, you'll never the get the chance to tell her how you feel. You'll have wasted your entire life pining after her for nothing."

With a swift and serious poke of his pool stick, Lubbock hit the billiard balls in such a way as to send every remaining ball into the table's pockets in one fell swoop. "You're the one who's dumb if you think I'd let that happen."

The genius sniper had no intention of taking such an insult lightly; it prompted her to walk up to her green haired companion and aggressively poke her index finger against his chest multiple times. "I'm dumb? In case you haven't noticed, moron, this place is crawling with men, bigger, stronger and better looking than you. The boss could have any one of them at any moment. In fact, Akame and I saw a few talking to her on our way back from the encampment. You could lose your chance with her regardless."

All of the sudden, a look of panic manifested itself on Lubbock's face. "OH SHIT!"

Hearing his reaction brought a cheeky and victorious smile on Mein's lips as she nudged Akame with her elbow."Now he gets it."

* * *

 **[ _. . . The art of espionage . . ._ ]**

* * *

The sun had just gone down and Chelsea was still wandering the halls of the imperial palace in the form of General Budo. She was currently walking around a hallway area in what had been referred to as the south east royal wing. It was an area several floors above the throne room and the interior was lavish to an excessive degree.

" _Nothing. No documents, no records, no incompetent soldiers willing to spill the beans. Whatever Esdeath's plan is, she must have taken extreme efforts to insure that even someone with my skills wouldn't be able to learn of it. Looks like giving the prime minister's son a visit is my only option at this point."_

With that, she kept walking until she reached one room near the end of the hallway, presumably Syura's personal chambers. Upon walking up to the door, she lightly knocked upon it four or five times, subsequently receiving no response. Recalling the prime minister's words, the shapeshifting assassin knocked once more, this time banging on the door in a loud and provoking fashion.

After a few additional moments, the door flew wide open, a noticeably irritated and shirtless Syura appearing on the other side. "This had better be damn important or I swear I am going to-"

Before uttering another word, however, he immediately recognized the person who was beckoning at his door. All of the sudden, his irritation vanished, being replaced by fearful reverence. "Uh . . . General Budo, what brings you here to my quarters?"

"Your father suggested I accompany you to your rendezvous with General Esdeath."

Syura enquiringly rubbed his chin. "Did he now?"

"It's important she have my counsel and assistance as she executes the latest phase of her plans."

"Esdeath doesn't seem the type to need help, but whatever. It's no skin off my nose. By the way, did you hear anything while you were knocking on the door?"

"No, not a sound. Why do you ask?"

To which Syura smirked. "Good to know. My father had these doors sound proofed with the best sound dampening materials you can find in the Grand Empire. A good thing too as not everyone is comfortable with my hobbies."

"Yes, your father spoke of that briefly. Just what kind of hobbies pique your interest?"

Just then, the voice of fearful young girl could be heard frantically screaming from within Syura's chambers. "Is someone else out there?! Please! You've got to help me! He's a monster! He's-"

"Excuse me for a moment, general", Syura said with a polite and courteous smile before closing the door and heading back into his room.

Chelsea waited there for a minute or two, making certain not to let her curiosity distract her from her mission. Syura then promptly opened the door yet again. This time, there were multiple blood splatters on his chest and multiple loose strands of hair in one of his hands. The prime minister's son nonetheless looked quite pleased with himself. "There. Sorry about that distraction. Allow me to change my clothes so we can talk someplace else. I would invite you into my room, but the guards will need to dispose of the garbage on my bed. It's an unpleasant site."

Chelsea turned around, walking away as she did. "We can meet when you're ready to meet up with General Esdeath. When you're ready to leave, I'll be waiting for you in the courtyard. I have one last errand to attend to, but for the time being, I'll fetch a guard to come take care of the 'mess' in your room."

"Understood, general", Syura responded, a hint of mock-politeness in his voice. " _One last errand to attend to? Who does this geezer think he is? The nerve to make me wait!"_

Just as soon as Syura went back into his room and closed the door behind him, Chelsea immediately stopped walking. She then took the opportunity to look around, making sure that no one else was watching her. There were two guards monitoring the other end of the hallway, but they were facing the hallway's exterior as opposed to its interior. Sensing no one's watchful eyes, she swiftly shapeshifted herself into the form of a male palace guard. The skilled assassin then walked back towards Syura's room, once again banging on the door.

And so Syura once again opened the door, this time wearing his standard white skintight shirt. He appeared to be surprised. "Well that was fast. Maybe the general isn't so bad after all."

"Sir, General Budo has informed me you need some 'room cleaning'", Chelsea said, giving a firm salute simultaneously.

"Room cleaning? Yes, I suppose you could call it that. It's on the bed. Dispose of it before it leaves an odor. And make sure to change the sheets too! Meanwhile, I guess I'll find something else to amuse me while I wait for Budo to finish whatever he's doing. Occupying the bingo parlor, I bet."

"Yes sir!"

With that, Syura walked away, causing Chelsea to smirk with satisfaction as he did so. " _That was your mistake._ "

She walked into his room, closing the door behind her. It was a sizable room, complete with a desk to study at and a litany of bookshelves all filled to the brim with literature regarding the history of the Grand Empire, danger beasts and Imperial Arms. " _Odd. He doesn't really strike me as being the scholarly type._ "

As Chelsea continued looking around the room, she immediately noticed the man's bed. It was a king sized bed with velvet sheets and on it laid a disgusting and abhorrent sight. It was the naked body a young blonde girl no older than 15. She had clearly been raped, cut up, beaten and battered for perhaps the entire day. And from the look of her neck, it was clear she had recently been strangled to death.

The shapeshifting assassin was deeply repulsed by the sight of this and her distaste for Syura surely grew a thousand fold in that one instant. She was nonetheless too much of a professional to allow even something like that to distract her from her mission. She thus wrapped a sheet around the deceased the body, giving it at least a modicum of dignity.

Chelsea then refocused her attention on gathering intel, searching every nook and cranny of the room at she did so. She checked the drawers in his desk, the books in his bookshelves and the space in his closet. All revealed nothing. She then opted to look in the most obvious place of all: Beneath the bed. There, she found a locked strongbox. " _Jackpot._ "

She pulled the box out from beneath the bed. For anyone else, figuring out a way to open the box would naturally be the next step, but not for Chelsea. With the supernatural powers granted to her by her imperial arm, she shapeshifted her index finger into the form of a key. Then, after some additional manipulation and adjustments, she effortlessly unlocked the chest, curious to see its contents.

What the Night Raid assassin found was two items. The first was a thick research notebook of some sort. She flipped through the pages, noticing that contents of the notebook contained extensive information on all 48 imperial arms, going into far greater detail than she had ever been aware of. The text described each weapons strengths, weaknesses and secrets and a few additional concepts she had never heard of. " _What is perfect sync?"_

As she continued flipping through the pages, she further noticed something else out of the ordinary. " _Impossible. If I'm reading the dates correctly, all of this was written 1000 years ago. But just how did Syura get his hands on something like this?"_

" _No no",_ Chelsea thought, setting the research notebook down. " _Najenda and I can figure all of this stuff out later. Right now, I need to focus on my mission._ "

She picked up the other item in the strongbox. It was another book, but more along the lines of a diary. She flipped through the pages, immediately realizing that it belonged to Syura. Most of the pages appeared to describe the details of his perverse and depraved exploits. Why he would want to record these experiences, she had no idea.

But what truly frightened her was the latest entry. In precise and vivid detail, it summarized what he had planned to do the night he had been instructed to rendezvous with General Esdeath. Chelsea's eyes were glued to the page; the look on her face was one of sheer terror. " _No. This can't be! I've got to do something! But there's no time. There's no way I can . . ."_

And it was then that a lightbulb went off in the shapeshifting assassin's head. She immediately recalled her last conversation with Lubbock on the previous day and how he had given her the key to his bookstore. " _No, there is one thing I can do_ ", she resolutely thought to herself.

* * *

 **[ _. . . The meeting . . ._ ]**

* * *

With the passing of time, the sky was now considerably darker. Sitting on a couch in the Revolutionary Army fortress' lounging area, Lubbock looked up to the clock, noting that it was currently 8:25 pm. "I guess it's about time", he said to everyone else in the room.

"Don't be so antsy!", Leone chuckled while taking a seat next to him, slapping her green haired companion on the back as she did so. "The boss will come and get us when she's ready! And then you can go crazy on her!"

Mein stood on the other side of the room, a skeptical look in her eyes "So you're really gonna do it tonight?"

To which Lubbock passionately nodded his head. "Yep! Tonight is the night!"

"10 gold pieces says he chickens out!", Leone blurted out.

"Make it 30!", the genius sniper boasted.

"What?!", Lubbock exclaimed with in annoyed tone of voice. "You're really gonna bet against me? It was YOUR idea I do this."

To which Mein smirked. "Hey now, just because it was my idea doesn't mean I think you're gonna do it."

Looking for support, Lubbock turned his eyes to Akame "You gonna bet against me too?"

"No", the red eyed assassin bluntly replied.

Hearing this brought a boastful smile on Lubbock's face. "See? Even Akame's got my back!"

To which Akame shook her head. "Not exactly. I simply spent all of my money on salisbury steak before we got here."

"Oh c'mon! Not you too! If Tatsumi were here, he'd have my back."

Leone rubbed her chin, openly pondering on that last sentence. "Speaking of Tatsumi, it's about time for that strategy meeting and he still isn't here. You don't think he ran into any trouble, do you?"

"Doubt it", Lubbock responded, shaking his head. "If Esdeath wanted to kidnap him again, she would've already done so by now. It's just a long distance from here to his village. He'll make it here."

Mein indifferently shrugged her shoulders. "And it's not like we can't just tell him what happened at the meeting once he gets here."

"Yep!", the feral assassin said with a big smile on her face. "Then we just do our job like we always do, kick the imperial army's collective asses and then celebrate with the biggest party ever thrown! What we do after that is anyone's guess!"

The implications of the words 'after that' instantly caught everyone's attention, causing all four assassins present to openly contemplate. Indeed, they had been so focused on Night Raid and their missions that they seldom bothered to think about what would happen when it was time to leave that life behind. Nonetheless, they each had a different answer.

Mein went first. "I've decided that my 'after that' will be helping the people of Reispan against their oppressive government. We already helped everyone in the town of Sin Esperanza, but I want everyone in that country to get the same help. Once the Prime Minister is no longer ruling the Grand Empire, I figure we have a much better shot at getting Reispan to change its ways."

"You realize that changing the customs of an entire country isn't an easy task, right?", Lubbock noted. "You may very well end up having to start the kind of revolution we started here."

The genius sniper didn't appear to have any misgivings about this likelihood however, indicated by the resolute glare in her eyes. "I'm aware of the risk, but am prepared to do whatever it takes to save my people."

Hearing his pinked hair companions answer put a sincere smile on his face. "And we'll support you 100% of the way. As for my 'after that', assuming I don't get killed off anticlimactically at some point, I figure I'll write a book about all of our adventures and make tons of gold selling it to people throughout the world. After I marry Najenda of course."

"The boss in a wedding dress? I can't see it", Leone responded, shuddering at the mental image she just pictured. "As for my 'after that', we haven't yet reached the point in the story where you get to hear more about my personal motivations, so I'm gonna pass! You'll have to wait for the sequel should the author ever get around to it! Your turn, Akame!"

Unlike her companions, the red eyed assassin was not as cheerful or confident about what the future had in store; the look on her face was one of deep melancholy. "My 'after that'? I'm sorry, but I don't really know the answer to that myself."

"It's about Kurome, isn't it?", Leone asked, sympathetically walking up to Akame and resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. You don't have to think about your 'after that' right now. Just know that no matter what, we'll always be there for you."

Both Lubbock and Mein nodded with approval towards this sentiment.

"Thank you", Akame graciously answered.

Before the moment could continue, Najenda opened the lounge doors and entered the room with Susanno at her side like always. She shifted her attention to Leone. "And here I thought you wouldn't be sober for this occasion."

"A certain SOMEBODY in need of a SERIOUS ass kicking hid all of the remaining beverages in the mini-bar", Leone openly pouted.

The Night Raid leader looked around the room carefully before sighing with dissatisfaction. "I knew Chelsea wouldn't be able to make it, but I had hoped Tatsumi would at least be here. Oh well, we'll have to do without him. Is everyone ready?"

"Najenda!", Lubbock blurted out, walking up to his commander and cupping her left hand in both of his own hands. "Before we go, there's something I need to tell you."

"Can it wait? We've got to head down to the war room"

Not willing to let things go, Lubbock fiercely shook his head at the notion. "No, it can't wait! It's really important and something I've been meaning to reveal for a long time now!"

Najenda obviously had utterly no clue what he was talking about and didn't seem all that interested. "Fine. Just spit it out already."

"Najenda . . . I . . . um . . . uh . . . what I want to say is . . . uh . . ."

"Yes?"

"That . . . um . . . the thing is . . ."

"What are you trying to say Lubbock?"

"That . . . um . . . I was the one who hid all the beverages in the mini-bar!"

"Is that so?", she said with an approving smile. "Good thinking, Lubbock. The last thing we need is a certain member of Night Raid being drunk in front of the highly important members of the Revolutionary Army."

Leone snarled her teeth, her eyes full of burning rage "THAT WAS YOU?! YOU EVIL BASTARD! I SWEAR I AM GOING TO-"

"Save it, Leone", Najenda interrupted. Right now, we need to head downstairs."

"Not quite yet" another voice uttered nearby. It was the Lord standing outside the room. "Before we head to the meeting, I need to speak with you. Don't worry. I know how much you like being punctual. It won't take long."

"Very well", she said, her attention focused on her four underlings in the room. "Everyone, I'll be right back. Leone, try not to kill Lubbock."

With that, the Lord, accompanied by Najenda and Susanno walked away from the lounge, making their way towards a room upstairs.

Najenda curiously looked towards the door to the room they were apparently about to enter. "Is there a reason we're headed to your office?"

"Yes, my child. Before we proceed any further, I feel it's imperative I introduce you to a person I have the utmost respect and honor for."

Of course, Najenda appeared to be annoyed with such a gesture. "An introduction? Can't this wait until later? You of all people should know that we're at a pivotal point in this war. Surely ironing out the strategies to be used in our upcoming battles is more important."

But the Lord shook his head, unconcerned with the Night Raid commander's objection. "Surprisingly, no. This introduction is more important. It's best you meet with this person right now."

"Fine. Whatever it takes to get his over with."

Upon casually opening the door to his office, the Lord walked inside alongside his two guest. The office itself didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. File cabinets, bookshelves, Revolutionary Army insignia and a large window at the back of the room overlooking much of the island.

The focal point of the room, however, was the desk that sat at the center as well as the pristine leather office chair that accompanied it. Only the chair appeared to be spun around, facing the window. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that someone was currently sitting in the chair.

To Najenda's surprise, the Lord suddenly and reverently kneeled down on one knee, bowing his head as he did so. "As you've requested, I have brought Najenda here."

Just as these words were uttered, the chair slowly swiveled around 180 degrees, no longer facing the window at the back of the office, but instead the room's entrance. As it did so, Najenda's eye's widened in disbelief as to who was sitting in the Lord's chair. A surprise that shook her to her very core. "Esdeath?!"

Indeed, it was the infamous Ice Queen she had loathed and despised. And for one reason or another, she had a wicked but satisfied grin on her face. " Checkmate, Najenda."

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** And there you have it, folks! I won't say anything about the above twist. There's nothing that needs to be said really!

At any rate, another chapter out of the way! By my calculations, we've got 6 or 7 more chapters left in this series.

Thoughts? Hate it? Love it? Meh? Feel free to favorite, follow or leave a review! Lemme know what you think of this ninth chapter in this _Down a different branch_ AKG installment. Till next time! :D


	10. Kill the Revolution - Part One

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 **A/N:** Yosh! We've once again made our way to another new chapter! Unfortunately, I ended up breaking my at least once a month rule, but hopefully that doesn't happen too often for the remaining chapters.

#1. As always, thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows. What keeps me going is YOU the readers. Thanks for all of your support!

#2. As always, don't make assumptions. Be patient. There's always a method to my madness! That especially applies in this chapter given some of the reveals . . .

Without further ado . . .

* * *

 _ **Updated 1/19/17 - Fixed prose and grammatical errors.**_

* * *

 _ **Episode 23: Kill the Revolution - Part 1**_

It was late in the evening and Tatsumi was still flying on the back of the air manta he had been given earlier in the day. He flew back, trying to imagine how Najenda and the rest were going to react to the plan he had concocted at the spur of a moment. He played out multiple scenarios in his head, each involving one of his comrades demanding to know why he'd willingly go along with their arch enemy in pursuit of a fabled omega class beast.

" _I guess there's no getting around it"_ , he whimsically thought, sitting down with his hands clenched tightly to the air manta's back. " _I'll have to let them know what I really think of her. They'll think I'm crazy. They'll think I'm insane. Even I think I'm crazy and insane. Just what's coming over me? And Lubbock: He will never let me live this down. But maybe it won't be so bad."_

He suddenly recalled one of the moments from the previous night. How beneath his bed sheets and snuggled up behind her, he had held both of his arms around her waist before peacefully dozing off. Such peacefulness and serenity was in complete contrast to the first night they had spent together all those weeks ago. " _Wave is right; the more time we spend time we spend together, the more human she seems to become_."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Checkmate? . . . ._ ]**

* * *

Najenda stood mortified at the sight before her. Her mind could barely register the fact that her arch nemesis was smugly sitting across her at the Lord's office desk. There were so many implications to just this sight alone that she didn't know where to begin. How? What? Why? When? Even more disheartening, however, was that the man she held in such high regard was on one knee, bowing to this bloodthirsty witch of a woman.

Susanoo, however, was of a different mindset. The humanoid imperial arm had already slipped into an attack stance. Just by looking at him, it was clear that he was ready to lunge towards the general with his battle-stave at any moment.

Esdeath simply watched Su's posture with amusement, not in any way threatened by his movements "Is that your new imperial arm? I suppose losing an arm and an eye didn't affect you too much after all. From the looks of it, he seems . . . somewhat formidable"

"Why have you come here?" Najenda asked with a disdainful scowl on her face.

A question that a caused a devilishly conceited smirk to envelop on the Ice Queen's lips. "If anyone else were in this situation, they'd ask more obvious questions, such as how I learned the location of the Revolutionary Army base or why their leader is bowing before me. But true to your genius, it seems you might already suspect what has occurred here and are thus seeking the only answer that can't immediately be deduced from the information you already. Am I wrong?"

"Don't screw with me!", Najenda snarled.

"Well, I suppose we do have some time to kill", Esdeath replied, simultaneous turning her gaze to the Lord. "Priest, pour us two cups of the wine you have in your cabinet over there!"

With the utmost obedience, the Revolutionary Army leader stood up from his kneeling posture and pulled an unopened bottle of wine and two wine glasses out from a cabinet on the other side of the room. He then set them down on the desk Esdeath was sitting at, patiently filling up both cups as if he were a mere servant. Najenda gritted her teeth throughout this scene; there was such hatred in her eyes.

Hatred that didn't go unnoticed; the sight amused the Ice Queen as she divined a set of ice cubes into the wine glasses. She then took a casual sip from the glass closest to her as if to bask in the moment. "I must admit. The priest was quite the challenge. My most challenging subject ever. It took me a total of 123.6 hours, but I managed it. Extreme amounts of physical pain didn't seem to amount to much for him. He kept singing hymns and quoting verses about endurance and conviction. I had to then switch to a more complicated brand of torture. One that was purely psychological. And even then, he still held strong. Najenda, do you want to know what ultimately broke him? What shattered his very soul?"

"I SAID DON'T SCREW WITH ME!", Najenda yelled out, slapping the wine glass before her off the desk and into the wall.

"That was . . . uncalled for." Esdeath said with a sigh. "Priest. Your child has spilt wine on your good floors. Clean it up at once."

"As you wish", the Lord responded, bowing as he did so. He walked over to the spilt wine, bent down on the floor and began to lick it up using nothing but his tongue. A humiliating display for sure; a showing that only made the Night Raid commander all the angrier.

Reading his master's intent, Susanno lunged towards the Ice Queen, preparing to cave her skull in with his heavy blunt weapon. Esdeath didn't lift a finger, however, much less summon any ice. Instead, she remained still and composed, watching with fascination in her eyes as the humanoid imperial arm's attack came to a sudden halt. The Lord was behind him, having grabbed him in a full nelson position.

"Release me!" Sussano demanded. But the Lord didn't budge, holding on as tight as he could.

Najenda ran up to the pair, attempting to pull her father away. "Old man, you have to snap out of it! This isn't you! I don't know what she's done to you, but no good will come from trying to protect her!"

Hearing this proclamation made Esdeath cockily laugh out loud. "Is that what you think? That he is protecting me? You of all people should know that I require no such protection! On the contrary, the person he is trying to protect is none other than you!"

With a sudden dumbstruck look on her face, Najenda ceased attempting to pull the Lord away from her Susannoo, instead directing her attention to Esdeath. "Me?"

"That is how I broke him. Flogging, cutting, branding, crushing, skinning, burning and every brand of intense pain you can think of? All useless on him! That is . . . unless he thinks it's happening to his child. Unless he thinks that his child is the one suffering the worse pain imaginable. Unless he thinks his child is suffering horrors beyond comprehension. Thoughts like these for 72 hours straight can drive even a devout religious fool like him beyond the point of madness."

Najenda turned to her subservient father, her facial expressions comprising of sheer disbelief. "No . . . you couldn't . . . you didn't . . ."

"Oh but I did!", Esdeath said, still smirking with self-approval. "That is how I reduced him to his current state. Right now, in his own twisted state of mind, he's come to realize that opposing me is meaningless; that it'll just result in you getting killed. He believes that by instead serving me, I'll spare your life and your life alone at least. To be honest, I'm in such an elated mood today that depending on how you behave tonight, I just might entertain such a notion."

Deciding to restrain herself from falling for any additional blatant provocations, Najenda merely narrowed her eyes at the Ice Queen, opting to remain as rational as she could. "So then you used him to divulge all of the Revolutionary Army's secrets, didn't you? That's also how you discovered when and where to send your minions to attack us while we went after the foreign ambassadors."

"That's correct", Esdeath nodded. "But it doesn't quite tell the whole story. As you must realize by now, what I've done is far grander. I have eliminated the entire Revolutionary Army without lifting a finger. You see, I knew your organization was already in the process of trying to garner support from outside nations. The Prime Minister has certainly burned a number of bridges with his self-indulgent method of leadership and so it would only make sense to align yourself with foreign countries with the proverbial axe to grind."

True to her sharp intuition, Najenda appeared to instantly read between the lines of what the Ice Queen was saying. "Meaning the assassinations we conducted in Ali Jinnah, Reispan and Bestimmung were all based on false information you had my father supply us with."

"Indeed. Your father told you that you would be eliminating ambassadors with strong ties to the Grand Empire. A complete and utter lie. Those ambassadors were involved in standard trade negotiations and nothing more. You thought your father was using your team's assassinations as a means of bargaining foreign support, but the truth couldn't be any less horrifying for your cause! Your father has already sent word to all three of those nations of these wicked deeds as well as the joy he takes in having ordered them!"

"Impossible. All three of those nations have promised us support. Our scouts have even confirmed that the troops they're sending us are on their way to agreed upon rendezvous points. Even with control over my father, there's no way you could . . ." But Najenda stopped herself mid-sentence, widening her eyes at a startling realization.

"The look on your face says it all. Control over your father is exactly what makes it possible; after all, your organization is centered around him. All I had to do was have him replace most of your scouts with agents of my own. Scouts are the eyes and ears of any army. In other words, the Revolutionary Army only saw and heard whatever I wanted it to see and hear. They will find no 'promised support' at these agreed upon rendezvous points you speak of. Instead, they will only find hostile foreign armies intent on obliterating them; they'll be like moths to a flame."

" _No._ ", Najenda thought, gritting her teeth as she did so. " _We were so close. This can't be happening."_

"But that only concerns 3 quarters of your army. What of the remaining quarter present here on this island? What happens to them?", Esdeath asked, the inflection in her voice making it clear that her question was purely rhetorical.

At that exact moment, warning bells were being rung throughout the island. The likes of which signified imminent danger. Najenda quickly ran to the window to identify what was going on. And with her own eyes, she saw perhaps the most unwelcoming sight of the entire evening. In the distance was a full armada of imperial warships approaching the island's shore line.

Not able to stomach another moment of this madness, Najenda bursted her way towards the door, intent upon alerting the other Night Raid members present and doing what they could to prevent the Revolutionary Army from being annihilated that night. But before she could take four steps in that direction, she suddenly noticed Esdeath blocking her path. Suddenly being an understatement. The passing of time was so instantaneous that it was as if the blue haired general had long been standing there.

"I don't recall giving you permission to leave", Esdeath said, her voice soaked with conceit.

The Night Raid commander stopped dead in her tracks, briefly taking a moment to look back towards the chair her nemesis had been sitting in. It was empty. It was the impossible; it was a sight which appeared to defy all logic " _How did she . . . when did she . . . what did she do?"_

Susannoo, noticing his master's confusion, was nonetheless equally confused by what had just transpired. "My eyes were designed to keep track of even the fastest movements and the subtlest of details, but it's as if neither she nor your prosthetic hand never moved at all."

"My arm?!", Najenda asked. She had been so caught up by Esdeath's sudden movements, that it didn't occur to her that the Ice Queen was holding onto her prosthetic arm, clearly having been torn away at the wrist area in an instant.

Esdeath proceeded to glance her eyes upon the device, clearly fascinated by its design. "Such remarkable craftsmanship. Very much like Dr. Stylish's designs. You must tell me who made this. Seryu would be much more useful to me if I had another man like him around."

Desperate to learn what had just occurred, Najenda examined her damaged prosthetic limb, noticing a stream of electric sparks flying out from the location it had been forcefully dismembered at. "Su, are you certain your eyes didn't detect anything?"

To which the humanoid imperial arm nodded his head. "Nothing."

Having no use for it, Esdeath dismissively tossed the prosthetic hand to the floor. "No matter how good his eyes are, he would never be able to perceive my movements. No one can. Such is the limitation of anyone constrained by trifles like space and time. I, on the other hand, am no longer bound by such limitations. This is my trump card: Mahapadma. With it, I can freeze all time and space at my leisure."

Not having expected to hear something so absurd, Najenda gazed at her nemesis with disbelief in her eyes. "Freeze time and space? Preposterous. No imperial arm is that powerful."

"And yet how do you explain what I did with your hand just now?", Esdeath replied, visibly amused by the doubts being expressed about her newfound ability. "How do you think I was able to find out that your father was the leader of the Revolutionary Army. As you must know, he went to great lengths to maintain this secret, preaching to the deluded masses on a day to day basis, preaching to everyone about the errors of violence and wisdom of pacifism. He even almost had me fooled. That is until I tailed him personally, using my trump card to help in keeping him unaware of my presence. It wasn't long until I personally witnessed him secretly issuing out orders to several Revolutionary Army agents in disguise that my suspicions were confirmed."

But the Night Raid commander instantly saw a problem in the blue haired general's explanation. "If you're truly that powerful, then all of this elaborate planning on your part was pointless. You could've literally eliminated the entire Revolutionary Army on your own a thousand times over. Effortlessly at that."

"Tempting, but no. Like all trump cards, mine comes with a catch. I can only stop time for a maximum of 4 seconds. And for every second I stop time, I'm unable to use my imperial arm for 8 minutes. Just now, I stopped time for all four seconds, thus I won't be able to create ice for a total of 32 minutes."

"Kind of foolish to tell me how your trump card works, don't you think?"

Undaunted by her nemesis' provocation, however, Esdeath merely chuckled. "I'm in a good mood today, a VERY good mood. So I'm going to give you a sporting chance. If you surrender now, I'll persuade the Prime Minister to simply let you off with a life sentence in confinement. If, on the other hand, you wish to retaliate, feel free to try and make the best of the next 32 minutes . . . assuming you can survive them."

Najenda didn't answer, instead taking the moment to ponder on her next move. Even without the ability to summon and manipulate ice, did she stand a chance against Esdeath even with the aid of Susanno? The Night Raid averted her gaze towards the Lord, who was still clinging onto to the humanoid imperial arm in a full nelson position. " _No. As long as he's insistent on getting in the way, we can't engage her. Gotta think of something. Fast._ "

Just then, someone opened the office door. Behind it was Mein, who was very much high on alert, even holding her imperial arm at her side. "Boss, you've gotta get out here. The Imperial army is-" She stopped speaking mid-sentence, instantly realizing that Esdeath was standing right in front of the door.

In response, the Ice Queen turned around to face the would-be intruder, instantly recognizing the weapon in the young Reispan girl's hands. "Ah, if isn't Night Raid's talented sniper. For Najenda to entrust you with her old weapon, you must be special."

"Mein!", Najenda yelled in a commanding fashion. "Execute contingency plan M57, now!"

The genius sniper neither hesitated nor question her leader's words. Rather, without delay, she immediately aimed Pumpkin towards the blue haired general. Her gun took on a peculiar appearance as it did this; the barrel suddenly manifested itself into a form similar to that of a double barreled shotgun. Not only that, but ominous purple light outlined various parts of the weapon. Esdeath didn't retaliate, instead choosing to err on the side of caution.

Sparing not another thought, Mein immediately pulled the trigger. "Take this: Sorpresa del Diablo!" A violent beam of purple energy flew right out of Pumpkin's twin barrels, vaporizing everything in its path, needless to say the entire office. All that remained was a sizable hole on the fortress walls.

It was at this moment that Mein dropped her weapon to the ground and began clutching at her chest, clearly in pain. She was breathing hard. She was breathing heavily. But despite the painstaking state she was in, she remained nonetheless vigilant. She surveyed the remains, what little there were, of the Lord's office, noting that there was no sight of Esdeath, Najenda, Susannoo or the Lord himself.

Lubbock, Leone and Akame, clearly having just run upstairs, noticed their companion in a state of disarray, leading them to rush to her side. "What happened?", Leone asked, her voice full of concern.

"It's Esdeath", Mein replied, still clutching her chest. "She's here."

Lubbock looked flabbergasted "No way."

"'Fraid so. The boss ordered me to pull an M57 as soon as I got in the room, but I get the feeling Esdeath survived."

"Her being here makes sense", Akame added. "She must be the one who ordered the Imperial Army to come here. But then how did she learn of this location?"

"I can answer that", said an approaching figure who had just leapt through the hole in the fortress walls Mein had just created.

"Miss Najenda!", Lubbock blurted out, surprised and relieved at the sight of his beloved leader. She also appeared to be carrying her father, evidently unconscious, on her shoulder.

"But right now, we have more important things to worry about!", the Night Raid commander declared. "We must do everything we can to fend off the attack force Esdeath has sent here. If we do not, then this revolution dies tonight and all of our efforts up until this point will have been for nothing!"

Akame swiftly unsheathed her weapon, clenching its hilt with murderous intent as she did so. "Where is Esdeath? If we just let her roam around here, we're as good as dead regardless."

To which Najenda shook her head in disagreement. "Su is keeping her preoccupied for the time being. Thanks to a significant handicap she appears to have imposed upon herself, he should be able to hold up against her long enough for us to come up with a strategy to deal with that Imperial fleet."

* * *

 **[. _. . . The Jaegars' final mission . . . ._ ]**

* * *

Elsewhere, just as Najenda had observed, an entire legion of Imperial warships was making its way towards the island's harbor. With warning bells having been rung throughout the island, the Revolutionary Army soldiers were clearly in a state of disarray, no one having expected that the enemy would find and preemptively initiate a battle with them in such a fashion.

At the center most warship leading the charge, Wave stood at the bow, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed upon the beach up ahead. The look on his face was one of robust determination.

Run casually approached his comrade from behind. "Well Wave, this is it; our last mission. If we beat Night Raid today, the Jaegars will have served their purpose. The only question then will be what comes next for us."

The Grand Chariot wielder's eyes remained fixated on the sight before him. He nonetheless found his companion's remark curious. ". . . 'if' we beat Night Raid?"

To which Run stoutly answered, "The theory of quantum mechanics more or less tells us that guarantees don't exist in this world. All things come down to sheer probability, no matter how small. Though the chances of Night Raid's survival today are staggeringly low, don't get too confident. They became a thorn in the Grand Empire's side for a reason."

"So what is Night Raid's probability tonight?", Wave asked.

"The probability that they will prevail against us somehow? 1.98%."

Seryu whimsically approached the pair, holding her biological imperial arm in her arms and affectionately patting it on the head. "We'll make sure to lower those odds all the way down to 0. Isn't that right, Koro?"

To Run responded, sighing at Seryu' typical overzealousness, "Patience. Stick to the plan. Night Raid will most likely try and change the tide of the battle once we send troops to the shore. Once they've shown themselves, that's when we'll strike."

"And remember!", Kurome exclaimed, nonchalantly emerging from the deck below. "Akame is mine; no one else's. Got that?"

"Understood", Run replied with a stoic nod of his head.

Wave, however, said nothing. Rather, he kept his gaze focused upon the Revolutionary Army encampment up ahead, as if he were lost in deep contemplation.

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Stall . . . ._ ]**

* * *

Like a classic medieval European castle, the rooftop to the fortress was flat with ample space to walk around on and stone fencing scaling alongside the perimeter. There, in the center, Esdeath and Susannoo were locked in the heat of battle, clashing their weapons repeatedly with staggering ferocity. Despite the massive size of Su's weapon, however, the Ice Queen had no trouble parrying all of his strikes with her long rapier. The fierce biological imperial arm followed up his latest attack with a powerful two handed horizontal swipe with his stave.

Making no effort to parry the incoming attack, Esdeath instead leapt high into the air, dodging the blow and simultaneously front-flipping herself well over Su's head. She landed her feet on some of the stone fencing yards away, mere inches away from falling off the roof. Her balance was nevertheless conserved like that of an Olympic level gymnast.

Still standing upon the stone fence, she turned around to face her combatant, a sly smirk on her face. "For a mere tool without its master to guide it, you're quite strong."

Su twirled his weapon around, rotating it several times in a skillful fashion before slipping into a combat stance. Then, with a ferocious look in his eyes, he gazed upon his adversary. "My strength is my resolve to protect my master!"

"I can tell", Esdeath responded, her demeanor brimming with confidence. "The way you handled yourself back there in the Lord's office. Knocking out the Lord, grabbing him, grabbing Najenda and then bursting out the window all in the short time frame my attention was focused on that girl who now wields Pumpkin. Very impressive. Your master didn't even need to communicate that plan to you, did she? You just followed along as if you intuitively knew what to do and when to do it. But your execution is far from perfect. Hearing you burst out the window at the last second tipped me off to your ruse and enabled me to follow suit."

The biological weapon didn't appear deterred by his opponent's words. "Your petty provocations will have no effect on me."

"It's not a provocation." With a maniacal battle lusting grin on her face, the Ice Queen dashed towards her prey with her rapier held out fully. The sheer speed at which she did this easily mirrored Akame's.

Seeing that she was coming straight at him, however, Susannoo raised his stave into the air with both of his hands. As he did this, the blades embedded in the weapon began rotating in rapid succession. And just as Esdeath got close enough, he swung the weapon down no different than the way one would swing a mallet at a carnival strongman game. It looked as if he were about to smash his foe messily through the roof..

"It's a gracious warning!", Esdeath boasted. All of the sudden, in a split-instant, the Ice Queen halted her movements, side-stepping Su's weapon simultaneously. Thus, what Su hit wasn't his opponent, but the part of the roof she had been standing upon. His eyes widened with disbelief; he quickly realized that he had made the exact move Esdeath had wanted him to make and was thus wide open to a counter-attack as a result.

With a single swift and powerful thrust, her rapier entered Su's right eye and came out the back of his skull. She followed up by pulling her rapier back and subsequently delivering a hard left kick to his head. A blow that sent Su flying several yards to the side.

"Your strength is your resolve?", the Ice Queen said mockingly. "Then your weakness is being overly predictable!"

Susannoo steadily rose to his feet, steadily recovering from that last attack. What would've been a fatal wound to anyone else was nothing short of a temporary setback to the biological imperial arm . Within mere moments, his right eye regenerated, as did the hole in the back of his head. He grabbed the hilt of his stave, as if readying himself for another attack on his adversary.

Esdeath didn't appear to be concerned however. Instead, the smug grin on her face remained fully intact. "A biological imperial arm can only be killed through the destruction of its core. Otherwise, it will continually regenerate from all injuries, right? So the question is: Where is your core? It's clearly not in the right side of your brain, or else that last attack would've killed you. Let's see if I can continue to narrow down its location."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Strategy . . . ._ ]**

* * *

Back inside the fortress, there was a room with a long and rectangular war table in the center. Several men, all clearly high ranking officers of the Revolutionary Army, stood around the table, arguing with one another over the current predicament they were in as well as what to do about it.

"Silence!", Najenda growled upon bursting into the room, Lubbock, Akame and Leone treading behind her. The Night Raid commander gently set her unconscious father down against a wall.

"What . . . happened to the Lord?", one of the officers asked, no doubt troubled by the sight of his leader being in such a state at a time like this.

"He was incapacitated during a scuffle I just had with General Esdeath", Najenda replied while approaching the war table.

The sudden look on each of the officers was one of dread and panic "G-g-general Esdeath? She's here? How did she find our base?", one them frantically asked.

"I can't say for certain", Najenda answered. "How she got here, however, is irrelevant at this juncture. She's here and we have to deal with her and her battalion."

Before anyone could utter another word, Mein bursted into the room, panting heavily as if she had just sprinted at a very rapid speed non-stop. "Used my long barrel scope upstairs to do an estimate just as you requested, boss."

"And?", Najenda asked, her eyes gazed upon the genius sniper.

Mein ceased panting and looked sternly into her commander's eyes. "There are at least 200 warships approaching the island and at least 600 Imperial soldiers on each one."

"This can't be!", one of the officers shouted in dismay. "That's at least 120,000 enemy combatants. We only have 80,000 of our own forces present her at the moment and no warships whatsoever!"

Another officer chimed in. "This base was strictly designed for concealment purposes, not naval battles! We're sitting ducks here. Once their ships get close enough, they can fire upon us at any moment!"

Najenda, however, simply shook her head. "Not quite. The warships are simply there for intimidation purposes."

"Intimidation purposes?", one of the officers asked, uncertain of what she was getting at.

The Night Raid leader nodded her head with self-assurance. "Their general is currently on the island. For whatever reason, she decided to come here and taunt us in person. But her arrogance will be her undoing; as long as she's personally on the island, her troops won't fire a single cannon. The Prime Minister considers her too valuable of an asset to sacrifice her in such a way and her soldiers hold her in too high of a regard to even consider the thought."

"So then what do you suggest we do?", another officer questioned.

"That's simple", Najenda answered. "First, we must insure that Esdeath remains on this island as long as possible. As long as she does, their warships will not be a factor. Second, we must force a land battle with Esdeath's soldiers. If Mein's estimates are correct, we're outnumbered by at least 40,000 men, but the proper tactics will more than easily account for this deficit. We can have half of our men attack the Imperial soldiers as they get on the beach. Our advantage there will be the high ground. The other half of our men can be stationed here inside and around the fortress. I doubt they've brought any siege weaponry. Lastly, we must insure that Jaegars don't influence the battle. Night Raid will see to that personally."

Within a single instant, the look on each of the officers' faces went from despair to relief. "Then . . . we can actually win this!", one of them said, clearly overjoyed that the situation was not as dire as he had initially believed.

Najenda confidently nodded her head. "Indeed, we shall prevail. See to it that everyone follows this plan to the letter."

"What about us?", Leone asked, speaking up all of the sudden.

To which the Night Raid leader replied. "You heard me. Your job is to take care of the Jaegars. Preferably in a quick and covert fashion. Mein can snipe them from one of the towers. You can track them down with your heightened sense of smell and Akame can tag along with you. You've encountered the Grand Chariot user, so this shouldn't pose a problem. If Tatsumi manages to arrive before you find the Jaegars, he can join you in your pursuit."

"What about me?", Lubbock asked, instantly realizing that he didn't get mentioned in his leader's instructions.

She turned to her green haired subordinate, pausing for a moment before responding. "Lubbock, can I see you out in the hallway?"

The two walked outside the war room. Najenda made sure to close the door behind them, as if to prevent anyone from hearing what she was about to say. She looked into the young man's eyes with the utmost seriousness. "For the time being, I am entrusting you with my life."

"W-hat?", he asked, his voice full of skepticism and surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Su cannot hold Esdeath off forever, even with her present handicap. She will kill him if the battle goes on long enough. And as soon as she kills him, she'll come after us. To prevent that, I'm going to go assist him at once."

An idea which Lubbock disdainfully objected to. "You don't need to do that! I can come with you. All of us can. If we fight her together-"

"Then there will be no one to stop the Jaegars", Najenda interrupted. "And that alone will significantly affect the tide of this battle."

"So then why aren't you sending me to help Leone and Akame?"

"Because I need you to guard the Lord's body. I also need you to guard my own."

"Your . . . own?"

"I plan to use Su's trump card against Esdeath. Once I do so, my body is going to seem lifeless. I'm entrusting you to guard it. Find a safe place and hide. Tell no one outside of Night Raid what you're doing."

To which Lubbock rubbed his chin. "Why keep this a secret? You could assign an entire squad of our troops to guard your body."

Najenda sighed. "You don't understand. I can't trust anyone outside of Night Raid. Esdeath infiltrated the Revolutionary Army, learned how we operate and learned who was leading it. She found out about this island because . . . the Lord told her about it."

"What?!", Lubbock shouted in surprise. "The Lord betrayed us? Why are you asking me to watch over him then?!"

"Because that information was tortured out of him, because he's not in his right state of mind . . . and because he's my father."

"Your . . . father?", he asked, clearly astonished by this information.

"He's a good man and would never do this sort of thing of his own free will. Esdeath broke him just like she has broken so many others. There's no telling whether she has anyone else within our ranks that is in actuality a pawn of hers."

"Don't you think that's something you ought to have mentioned at the war table?"

"And what would that accomplish? If I explained to them that their dear leader had turned against them and had been broken down, how do think they would react? How do you think that would affect their morale? Right now, they believe we can turn the tides against Esdeath forces and defeat them. If we are to have even the slightest chance of doing that, their faith is not to be hindered."

"So then what are our chances?"

Najenda contemplated on the query for a moment before sternly looking into her subordinate's eyes and giving a solid answer. "1.98%!"

* * *

 **[. . . . _Theft_ . . . .]**

* * *

Below the fortress, within its basement area, was a large vault of sorts. It was where the Revolutionary Army kept its supply of imperial arms. Each one Night Raid had collected over the course of its many missions was kept inside, each waiting for a suitable user to become its new wielder.

Four guards stood outside the vault at all times. No one within the army was permitted to touch, much less try and use an imperial arm without express permission from the Lord himself. Guards stood watch at all times to insure that this rule remained iron clad.

On this night of nights, however, the guards were hit with unexpected news as the guard captain rushed down to the basement to present it to them. "Head to the entrance! We're under attack! This is not a drill!"

The four guards abandoned their posts without hesitation and followed their captain up, presumably to help guard the fortress from impending attacks. With their departure, no one stood by to guard the vault. A move that would prove to be unwise.

Five minutes later, a circular array with a ying and yang symbol in the center appeared on the floor, with Chelsea and Syura standing atop it. Chelsea was still disguised as General Budo, a fact Syura had no real inclination of. All he seemed interested in was the vault before him.

"Fools!", Syura cackled. "The Grand Empire owes it longevity to each and every one of these weapons. Just one imperial arm alone is enough to allow one man to take on 100. And yet they leave these miraculous instruments unguarded? Why? Because of a battle? These tools were created for battle! What nonsense!"

"Perhaps you're the fool", Chelsea pointed out, doing her best to act like Budo. "You act as if imperial arms can be used so easily. True, they are powerful devices, but they're also pretty selective about their wielders."

Syura appeared to be in such a jovial mood that there wasn't the slightest indication that he took offense to the insult directed at him. "I assure you, general; I am no fool. I have, after all, stumbled upon a way to bypass that limitation."

"Bypass the limitations of an imperial arm? Impossible."

Syura removed a brown silk glove from his pocket and slipped it on his right hand. "We'll see about that."

" _So that's the glove I read about in his diary?"_ Chelsea thought. " _Good. As soon as his guard is completely down, I'll eliminate this piece of garbage and take it from him. With it, we might have a chance of surviving this mess._ "

* * *

 **[. . . . _Counterattack_ . . . .]**

* * *

Susannoo panted heavily, cuts and tears all along his white robe. To add, his left arm was in the process of regenerating. A sight that made clear how his fight with Esdeath was progressing.

The Ice Queen, on the other hand, casually stood several feet away from her prey, still beaming with confidence. Content to wait and allow him to regenerate, she instead stood by and licked the blade on her rapier. "In summation, your core is not in your brain, your eyes, your legs, your feet, your stomach, your pelvic area, your neck, your hands, nor your arms. Therefore, by process of elimination, it is located in your chest. Or perhaps to be more specific, the magatama on your chest? That was my first guess to be frank, but finding out this way was more fun!"

Su gritted his teeth, sensing the direness of the situation at hand. " _Her combat style . . . it's unlike anything I've encountered. She's able to stand there casually without any regard for her defenses, but even now, there aren't any openings. How can this be?_ "

"Do you want to know the reason you cannot beat me?", Esdeatg asked, smugly smirking as she noticed her adversary's confusion. "I'll tell you. Consider it a parting gift on your way to oblivion. You're strong and you're fast and you excel at detecting flaws. I can tell. On paper, you make for a very useful imperial arm. But real life isn't like paper, is it? In combat, you focus all of your effort into finding the flaws in others and exploit whatever flaws you find. Right? But suppose you encounter a situation where you can't find any flaws. Suppose there are none to be found. Suppose you come up against an opponent whose fighting style is flawless? Then what do you do? You don't have an answer, do you?"

" _I've been trying to find a weak point in her style this entire time. But is she correct? Does she truly not have one?"_

"It's been fun, but if this is as far as you can go, I'll go ahead and put you out of your misery!" With barely a moment's notice, she bursted towards Su once more, smiling manically as she clutched the handle on her rapier.

The biological weapon watched his opponent burst towards him with such speed and intensity that he reluctantly knew he wouldn't be able to mount a proper defense in time. " _Forgive me, Najenda._ _I was not strong enough to hold her off any longer than this._ "

" _Then lets work together_ ", said a separate voice echoing in Su's head. At that very instant, the magatama on his chest was enveloped in a bold and bright light. So uncanny was this sight that even Esdeath took cautious notice; she ceased her attempted coup de grace and came to a complete stop.

As she paused to get a better look at what was going on, the magatama on Susannoo's chest ceased shining. And subsequently, the biological weapon now had a completely different form. What had appeared to be a tall man with bull-like horns coming out of both sides of his head was now clearly a woman with bull-like horns, 5'8 in height, silver hair, purple eyes and a more slender frame. What's more, the battle-stave Su had been using was missing. Instead, the biological weapon now had a belt at its waist with twin daggers attached.

Esdeath appeared to be startled at first, but that feeling quickly expired and her usual sense of supreme confidence just as quickly returned. "Is that you, Najenda?"

"You were a fool to waste your ability to freeze time just to show off earlier. Now you're going to regret it as I end your sorry excuse for a life once and for all!"

"By all means", the Ice Queen boastfully remarked, pointing her rapier towards her opponent. "Come and try!"

Wasting no time whatsoever, Najenda reached into her robe; she swiftly pulled six throwing knives out and hurled them all in the Ice Queen's direction. Esdeath parried each and every blade, deflecting them all out of the way with her long rapier and simultaneously dashing towards her prey.

Undaunted, Najenda pulled another set of knives out from within her robe; she fiercely hurled all these blades as well. But much like the previous set, Esdeath blocked and knocked each one away, making her way closer to her opponent as she did.

Within a flash, the Ice Queen lunged her blade directly at the magatama on her opponent's chest. A move that would surely end the battle if successful. But alas, the general yet again paused; she widened her eyes at the subtle sound in her ears. She had long honed all five of her senses to their maximum potential. This was especially the case for her hearing, making her well accustomed to certain sounds on the battlefield. She was very accustomed to this sound in particular: Blades cutting through the air.

Esdeath ducked her head all of the sudden, only to notice two of the knives Najenda had thrown flying right past her upon doing so. Not only were the knives seemingly moving by themselves, but the blade themselves glowed in an ethereal white light. Hearing the same subtle air-cutting sound coming from above, the Ice Queen glanced upwards, only to notice five of these knives flying down towards her. She quickly rolled out of the way, causing the knives to fly clean through the roof, leaving five knife shaped holes in their wake.

Three additional knives came flying at the Ice Queen from behind, but she adeptly spun around and parried all three blades. Upon knocking the third one away, she heard another set of knives flying towards her back; there were four of them.

"Your new abilities are impressive, Najenda", the general said while yet again deflecting the knives flying towards her. "But if this is the full extent of them, you can forget about even entertaining the notion of ending my life."

"Funny", the Night Raid commander responded. "Because from the way I see things, you've already lost."

Esdeath was still smirking, but her eyes were gleaming with curiosity. "Is that so?"

* * *

 **[. . . . _Score_ . . . .]**

* * *

All of the warships eventually progressed their way to within several hundred yards of the island's bay area only to then come to a halt. Imperial soldiers departed from each ship; they progressively began departing onto rowboats and rowing themselves towards the beach. The beach consisted of an almost narrowly steep incline. Revolutionary Army soldiers were waiting at the top, standing ready for the upcoming battle.

On the Jaegar's ship, Wave began to lower a rowboat of his own into the water, only to be stopped by Run.

"Patience", the former teacher said, resting a hand on his comrade's shoulder. "Stick to the plan. We won't intervene until Night Raid makes themselves present."

Another figure then approached the two. He was a shirtless large middle aged man with a heavily muscled build. He had a long braided hairstyle with black hair sticking far out at the sides, was bald at the top of his head, had a long bushy beard, a mustache, bushy eyebrows and dark prominent circles around his eyes. Moreover, he didn't appear to have a right hand. Rather, attached to it was a prosthetic hook; "I'm not a Jaegar", he said, his voice noticeably gruff. "So it's okay for me to go on over there, right?"

Run turned his head towards this figure. "Ah, Sten of the Four Rakshasa demons, right? Do as you please."

To which the heavily muscular man grinned with sadistic eagerness, caressing his hook with his left hand as he did so. "Good. General Esdeath made a wise decision entrusting me with this. The souls I'm gonna release tonight. I can hardly wait."

Intrigued, Run glanced his eyes upon the prosthetic hook in this man's possession. "I suppose it's fortunate you were already missing a limb. An imperial arm like Adramelech should more than make up for that sort of handicap."

"Already missing a limb?", Sten said, bursting into laughter upon doing so. "Are you serious? I gladly severed my right arm of my own free will. Esdeath was so impressed with my dedication that she didn't hesitate to offer me a position. Now all I have to do is translate my dedication into success tonight and I'll be living like a king in no time."

" _Why would the commander give an imperial arm to someone like him?_ ", Wave thought, looking upon this man with a repulsed look in his eyes.

Kurome, who had apparently been sitting someplace up high, dropped down onto the deck and landed next to Sten in the process. "Where are the other Rakshasa demons? There are supposed to be four of you, so where are the other three?"

"They're currently doing a job in Ali Jinnah. Didn't pay enough, so I came here. Once I tell 'em what it's like to work for the great General Esdeath, they'll be coming here too! I just know it!"

"Who are the Rakshasa demons?", Waved asked.

To which Run answered. "They're four world renowned assassins. Rumor is that the Prime Minister had initially intended to offer them the position of becoming the Jaegars, only to reason that it would be much more cost effective to gather a group of people within the Grand Empire so that loyalty wouldn't be an issue."

"Loyalty isn't an issue when General Esdeath is in charge!", Sten declared. "There's something about her that just makes you want to follow her to the ends of the earth."

For a brief and sudden instant, Kurome's eyes widened. She quickly tackled Run to the ground, causing him to barely avoid getting his head blasted by a small solid beam of focused energy. As the result, the beam instantly fired clean through the ship wall he had been standing in the front of.

"It's Night Raid's sniper!", Wave yelled, visibly alarmed.

As close as he had come to being assassinated just then, Run appeared to be as focused as ever "Patience! This wasn't unexpected! This is exactly why I insisted we temporarily stay back. Kurome, you did see the direction that shot was fired from, right?"

Of the island's four towers, Mein was at the top of easternmost one. Pumpkin had its long barrel attachment on and the genius sniper held the weapon with her eyes trained on the Jaegars' imperial warship. " _How the hell did she do that?!_ ", the genius sniper thought with irritation, clearly having seen Kurome cause her to miss her shot.

Mein then stood up from where she had been crouching moments ago. " _If she can react to my shots that quickly, she probably knows the direction I'm firing from. Better move someplace else._ "

"I finally found you!", said a steadily approaching familiar voice.

Greatly alarmed, Mein swiftly looked in the direction the voice was coming from, surprised at the sight before her. It was Seryu Ubiquitous. The Jaegar was rapidly being propelled through the air by one of her own rockets. She had evidently wrapped a wire of some sort around it before firing it and was holding on tightly as the projectile carried her through the air. What's more, Koro was clinging tightly to the girl's leg.

With a murderous grin on her face, she released the wire she was holding onto, rapidly descending towards Mein as she did. She then used the momentum of her fall to initiate a drop-kick on her target, but the Mein speedily used both of her hands to block the attack with the broadside of her imperial arm. Seryu then back flipped herself off the weapon and regained her footing several feet away.

"You've gotten a little bit stronger since our last fight", said the psychotic young woman, clearly referring to the way in which her adversary repelled her attack. "No matter. Evil will never prevail no matter how much it improves. You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to this!"

With a look of intense rage in her eyes, Mein pointed her weapon directly towards Seryu. "The feeling's mutual!"

* * *

 **[. _. . . Another . . . ._ ]**

* * *

Back inside the vault, Syura was marveling at the sight of all the imperial arms the Revolutionary Army had collected, many of which had initially been obtained by Night Raid throughout their exploits. He appeared to be quite pleased with himself, looking as if he had just won the lottery.

"They're all mine! All mine! ALL MINE!", Syura declared with joyous laughter.

"All yours?", Chelsea asked with the raise of an eyebrow, still in the form of Budo.

To which Syura responded with a devious grin, "Oh. I'm sorry. I misspoke. I mean to say all of the Grand Empire's."

"I'm confused, Syura. Didn't you say we were going to meet up with General Esdeath?", she asked, being extra careful to play the part correctly.

"We'll meet up with her in due time. This is more important. We can't let an opportunity like this go to waste."

With that, Syura casually began to place each weapon in a large cloth sack he just so happened to bring with him. He hummed a relaxing tune as he did this, not a care in the world about anything else. The collection of imperials arms appeared to be all he was concerned with.

Chelsea, meanwhile, stood several feet behind the man, narrowing her eyes as she did. Without the slightest hint of body movement, multiple needles slipped out from her sleeve to her right hand. She firmly clenched them, keeping her eyes focused on Syura the entire time. His back was turned, but she could tell he was relaxed, none the wiser to her true intentions. Within the last several moments, the most he had done besides packing the imperial arms was scratch his forehead.

"How much longer do you intend to dawdle, Syura?", the female assassin said, still playing the role of Budo.

"Not much longer", he nonchalantly responded. "Just a few more."

The shapeshifter raised her right hand into a throwing position, clenching her needles ever tightly as she did.

Still packing and still with his back turned, Syura uttered the last thing the shapeshifting assassin expected to hear from this vermin. "Just a few more . . . Chelsea."

The very instant Chelsea heard this, she reacted without wasting a moment to ponder on how knew her true identity all of the sudden. Instead, reacting through sheer impulse, she hurled her needles at the back of Syura's neck with great dexterity and pinpoint accuracy. Before the needles could pierce his skin, however, a miniature array, smaller than any of Syura's other portals, appeared behind his neck to intercept them. At the exact same time, another miniature array manifested itself behind the back of Chelsea's neck.

And just like that, Chelsea fell forward, reverting back into her real body upon hitting the floor. The needles she had thrown at the Prime Minister's son could clearly been seen protruding out from the back of her neck.

Syura set his bag aside and turned around to gaze his eyes upon his defeated would-be killer. The look on his face was one of wicked glee. Chelsea, barely able to move, lifted her head, hoping to see how this sadistic murderer had figured out who she was. One glance, however, was sufficient to provide an answer. On the center of Syura's forehead was the very imperial arm Akame had acquired upon assassinating Zanku the Beheader: Omnipotent Five Sights: Spectator.

" _Of course"_ , Chelsea thought. _"That moment where he scratched his head. He must've slipped it on then. How careless of me._ "

"Right you are, Chelsea", Syura said with amusement, clearly having read her thoughts. "I had planned to kill General Budo. Can't have him telling anyone that I'm lying once I inform my father about the fact that all of the Imperial Arms were destroyed tonight as a result of the battle. I figured Spectator would give me a better opportunity to kill him by surprise. Imagine my delight to find out that that dumb old geezer has already been taken out and that you're just pretending to be him."

His sadism knowing no end, he leaned down and grabbed the red ribbon collar on the girl's long sleeve shirt. He then proceeded to lift her up into the air, holding her at his eye level. Just the look on her face alone made it clear she was in agony. A look he took great pleasure in. "It would be so easy for me to take you back to my chambers. The fun we could have together! But I've read your mind and so I know you know your little needles nicked your carotid arteries. Even I'm not a fan of necrophilia. You understand, right?"

Without any warning, Syura threw the shapeshifting assassin into a nearby wall only to subsequently walk up to her, bend down and remove her imperial arm from her possession "What have we here?", he said, surveying the cosmetic case like box in his hands. "Phantasmagoria: Gaea Foundation. You have no idea how long I've been looking for this one. I wasn't sure whether the Revolutionary Army truly had it or not. Guess you won't be needing it anymore"

Another portal opened up behind Syura all of the sudden. This one was the size of a door. He stood up, grabbed the sack cloth bag he had placed every other imperial arm into and began to walk through. "Farewell", he said in mock politeness.

She watched both this savage of a man and his portal vanish before her very eyes. " _Who does he think he is? Not taking the time to finish me off like that. Amateur mistake_. _He'll regret it._ "

Chelsea hoisted herself against the wall behind her, using it as leverage to try and rise to her feet. She clenched her teeth as she did this, exerting all the effort she could to stand. " _This is . . . just a temporary setback."_

Her legs were trembling, but she was finally standing in an upright position if not barely. " _Just a . . . temporary setback . . ."_

She leaned her left hand against the wall to her left, using it as leverage to walk forward. Slowly she did. Step by step she took. Careful and precise. " _Just . . a temporary setback."_

She managed to maneuver herself all the way across the room and was about to draw near the stairway leading upstairs. " _Just . . . a . . . temporary . . . setback."_

As she took another step forward, he legs finally appeared to give out, causing her to lose her balance and drop to the floor. She tried everything she could do to get up once more, but her legs simply wouldn't listen. " _No . . . this is not how it's supposed to go. You said you would watch my back and I said I would watch yours. How am I supposed to watch your back like this?"_

Her breathes started shortening. Even breathing was beginning to be a difficult task." _How are you supposed to watch my back like this?!"_

She leaned her back against the wall, no longer making an effort to move. Instead, she simply sat there. " _I've been an assassin for nearly my entire life. I was good at it. Maybe one of the best. Any good assassin knows this sort of thing is inevitable. It's part of the job. It's divine punishment for everything we do. I heard the way Bulat met his end. I heard the way Sheele met hers. Both of them went out without any hesitation. Without any regrets. I called them naïve. But in the end . . . in the end . . . . maybe I was the one who is naïve._ "

She turned her head towards the stairs, looking at the top. As she did so, a single tear rolled down one of her cheeks " _It pains my pride to admit it . . . but I'm scared, you know? Right now, I'm scared. I'm terrified. Maybe that's why_ _I keep catching myself thinking you're going to come. That you're going to save me like you always do. That you'll show up in the nick of the time with that big dumb look on your face and I'll pretend like it's no big deal. Or that maybe I'll finally work up the courage to say those three little words I've always been too scared to tell you. But you're not coming this time . . . are you? No one is. This is . . . truly the end isn't it?"_

The pupils in her eyes began to dilate and her heart began to beat less and less, gradually coming to a standstill. " _It's getting. So dark. Why is it getting dark? It_ _can't be helped, can it? In the end, can I at least say I've watched your back one last time? Goodbye . . . Night Raid."_

With one final breath, she gently closed her eyes; her final thought being: " _Goodbye . . . Tatsumi."_

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** It pained me to write that last segment, but such is the way this story has to go. Not to mention that this _is_ Akame ga **Kill** after all! Things are really heating up here!

At any rate, another chapter out of the way! By my calculations, we've got 5 or 6 more chapters left in this series.

Thoughts? Hate it? Love it? Meh? Feel free to favorite, follow or leave a review! Lemme know what you think of this ninth chapter in this _Down a different branch_ AKG installment. Till next time! :D


	11. Kill the Revolution - Part Two

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 **A/N:** Yosh! We've once again made our way to another new chapter! And you're in luck! I'll be posting another chapter before the end of the month (keep your fingers crossed)! Initially, I intended for this chapter and the next chapter to be the same chapter, but I didn't want to end up dumping another 20,000 chapter on my readers, so I split it up. Anyways, before we get started, just a few points to make:

#1. As always, thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows. A quick shout out to Onyx2589! I mean to reply to your reviews of most of my chapters, but didn't get the chance! Nonetheless, you seem to have read through this story rather quickly. Thanks for the reviews!

#2. This "Kill the Revolution" arc will be wrapped up by the next chapter and we can then move onto the final phase of this fic.

#3. Am keeping tabs on the manga. Looks like it's gearing up to end in a fashion similar to the anime. I don't really care for this "Emperor in a giant mech" stuff and it doesn't look like the author will be giving us a proper "Tatsumi vs Esdeath" scenario. Looks like Akame is gonna get all the glory again. Shame.

#4. As you'll see below, I've changed my method of transitioning from scene to scene again. I think this style works much better!

Anyways, without further ado . . .

* * *

 _ **Updated 1/20/17 - Fixed prose and grammatical errors.**_

* * *

 _ **Episode 24: Kill the Revolution – Part 2**_

The island's beach was ripe with the sound of gunfire and clustered with the smell of gunpowder. Soldiers, both in the Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Army, were dying left and right. Accumulated injuries were on the rise. Nonetheless, even a child could tell which side appeared to have the advantage.

Much of the beach was a steep incline and legions of Revolutionary Army soldiers stood on the high ground, armed with rifles and katanas. The rifleman fired down upon the invading forces getting off their boats and attempting to make their way up the incline. The swordsmen cut down anyone who managed to get close enough to engage the riflemen at close quarters. In short, it was what seemed to be a foolproof strategy on Najenda's part.

Wave stood from afar on the Jaegar's warship with an irritated grimace on his face. Clearly unhappy with how the battle was progressing thus far. Indeed, even a child could tell who held the advantage in this situation. "This was a bad idea, Run. Call them back. We don't need to send in any soldiers at this point. All of our warships should blast the island first. That will annihilate their defenses. Our infantry can clear out the remains."

"No", Run replied in a stoic fashion. "For now, we'll proceed as planned."

Outraged at his comrade's seeming disregard for their own forces, Wave swiftly grabbed him by his coat collar. "Are you nuts? You see what's going on out there! Call them off! There's no reason to let so many get slaughtered!"

"It's not entirely my decision to make."

"Then whose is it? The commander's? You've seen how strong she is. She can take care of herself just fine. We should at very least fire upon the beach since we know she's inside their fortress!"

"This is a direct order from the Prime Minister. We are not to fire even a single cannon at the island until his son gives us the okay. For the time being, we'll attack using infantry."

"Are you serious? Where's the logic in that?!"

"Calm down. We still have an ace in the hole, but we'll have to play it at the right moment. Mark my words: Even if we don't fire a single cannon tonight, the Revolutionary Army is finished."

The look in Run's eyes; such confidence; such certainty. Wave couldn't help but sigh and release him from his grasp. "Fine. But what about their sniper? We already know where she is. Was it wise to only send Seryu to face her?"

"Out of the four of us, Seryu is the only one to have engaged their sniper in combat. The last time they fought, she forced their sniper to flee and even killed another one of their members simultaneously. Obviously, she's the one best suited to engage her. The rest of us will remain here. We can't overlook the possibility that they used their sniper as a means of furthering some divide and conquer tactic."

"Maybe, but what if one of them runs to their sniper's aid while we're all waiting patiently on this ship?"

"That won't be a problem. Seryu is also well suited to engaging entire groups. When we fought two of their members in Ali Jinnah, she nearly killed everyone with her abundant supply of artillery. If she's up against multiple opponents, we'll know pretty quickly based on the amount of explosions going off at that eastern tower."

The Grand Chariot wielder narrowed his eyes as he heard his companion's words. Something didn't set right with him. "Hold on a second. Nearly killed everyone? What are you talking about?"

Run sighed, as if reluctant to answer the question. "While we were fighting Night Raid back then, Seryu ended up blasting everyone in the entire room. I managed to protect myself at the last moment with my wings and Kurome used her trump card to keep herself from dying."

"Why wasn't I told about any of this?", Wave asked, his voice inflecting with disapproval.

"Because I know how you feel about Seryu and I also know how protective you are of Kurome and am not about to let that jeopardize our mission."

"She nearly killed you both and you're just going to forget about that?"

"Don't be a fool. Now is not the time to worry about a personal grudge. Our job is to defeat Night Raid and put an end to this rebellion."

"Personal grudge? Is that what you call it? That's the second time she nearly killed her own teammates. She's nothing but a death worshipping psychopath! You know I'm right!"

Run quickly narrowed his eyes as well, though still keeping his composure. "I've asked you this once and I'll ask you again: If you're right, what do you plan to do about it?"

And just like that, there was a sudden pause. Unlike the previous instance where the two Jaegars had this conversation, Wave did not provide an answer. Instead, he merely glared at Run for a few additional moments before swiftly turning away and continuing to watch the battle on the beach unfold.

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Hypocritical garbage . . . ._ ]**

* * *

At the top of the island's easternmost tower, Mein stood across the crazed Seryu Ubiquitious. Her imperial arm, Koro, was in its large muscular form. The crazed Jaegar had already plunged her right arm into the biological weapon's mouth. Upon pulling it out, her right forearm was replaced with a large and broad sword roughly eight feet in length. "Number 3: Sung Dynasty Blade!"

Mein had simultaneously taken a moment to adjust Pumpkin's parts to modify the weapon to its machine gun form. With her opponent being at such close range, this appeared to be the best strategy. As soon as she did, she immediately began firing upon her adversary, firing quick shots in succession, but considerably lower attack power than the weapons other forms. Seryu reactively jumped behind Koro, using the large and muscular bio-weapon as cover. Though despite its size, Mein's machine gun fire was nonetheless blasting miniature holes through it. "Koro! Berserker mode! Now!"

In absolute compliance to its master commands, the humanoid imperial arm quickly morphed into its trump card form, suddenly growing larger, appearing darker in color and appearing far more muscular. The beast opened its mouth, preparing to emit a roar loud enough to stun the genius sniper much like it had done in their previous encounter.

But Mein was more than prepared for such a tactic this time. Just as soon as the beast's mouth creaked open, she set her aim on that very area, blasting the inside of the bio-weapon throat in the process. This caused Koro to immediately cease its attempt to roar, instead letting out a loud cry in pain.

"Forget about the roar!", Seryu yelled. "Just focus on cornering her!"

And so the beast did, holding out its two arms in a cross blocking position, no doubt as a means to protect itself from the machine gun fire. It also began to walk towards the genius sniper. The machine gun fire was still doing damage, but thanks to Koro's current form, its size and regenerative powers, it was only proving to be a minor annoyance.

Despite the apparent insignificance or her continued assault, the genius sniper kept her fingers steadily on the trigger, slowly backing away as she did so. It wasn't long until her back was pushed up against the stone fencing alongside the tower's edge. Seryu, still standing behind Koro as a means of cover, peaked her head out ever so slightly to get a glimpse at where her Night Raod adversary was positioned, delighted with wicked glee upon confirming it with her own eyes.

"Send this vile demon to hell!", Seryu commanded in a maniacal fashion, clearly having noticed that Mein's back was literally against a wall.

Heeding its master's command, Koro charged in Mein direction's, on the verge of smashing her in one fell swoop. If Mein had any cause for alarm, however, the expression on her face certainly didn't indicate as much. "Idiot", she uttered, simultaneously doing a combat roll beneath Koro's short and stubby legs.

Having missed its target, Koro hurled itself clean through the stone fencing, inadvertently placing itself in the precarious position of being within a single centimeter from falling off the edge. It tried to regain its balance, but it was much too late. For Mein had spun around amidst her combat roll, gotten into a crouching position and continued to pelt the beast with machine gun fire. It was still ineffective from the standpoint of doing serious damage to the biological weapon, but that didn't appear to be true Mein's intent. Unable to regain its balance, Koro fell off the tower and plummeted towards the ground 10 stories below.

Though at the exact same time Mein had been firing upon the beast, Seryu herself had lunged towards the sniper with her sword held out. "Never turn your back on justice!"

Just as it looked like the crazed Jaegar was about to cut her opponent down from behind, Seryu was hurled back multiple feet and the sound of a gunshot from a powerful handgun filled the immediate area. As a result, the lone Jaegar fell flat on her back and was all of the sudden motionless. A hole could be seen on her lower forehead and blood could also be seen pouring out.

Mein didn't appear even the slightest bit surprised about this turn of events however. And with good reason. In her left hand was a silver revolver that looked very much like a .500 Smith and Wesson magnum. She had positioned the barrel of the weapon under her right arm, making it very difficult for someone behind her to notice. What's more, she had to have fired the gun while continuing to hold the trigger on her imperial arm in her right hand and without actually looking at her assailant from behind. A feat perhaps impossible to any ordinary person, but not to a marksmen of Mein's prowess

Sensing that the battle was over, Mein stood up from where she had been crouching. She carefully secured her handgun to a holster she appeared to have fastened beneath her dress and around her left thigh. Evidently, Seryu wasn't the only one who had made some changes since their last encounter. The genius sniper then turned around and walked towards her bested adversary, angrily kicking the body the moment she got close enough. "Sucks for you, but I came prepared this time. You have no idea how much time I've spent rethinking our previous fight. Every second of it is etched into my memory. I've spent months endlessly thinking about your fighting style, your habits, your tendencies, your imperial arm and what I could have done differently that night. Eventually, it occurred to me: You only survived because I got in Sheele's way. Get that? You're nothing special. You're just a hypocritical piece of garbage. Do me a favor and go rot in hell."

With an irritated sigh, she began to walk away. Like most classic medieval towers, this one had a long spiraling set of stone stairs inside going from top to bottom. But before tge Night Raid assassin could even place one foot on one stair, sounds of an approaching figure behind her caused her to swiftly turn her head back towards her thought-to-be defeated opponent.

Seryu was back on her feet with an axe-crazy look in her eyes, dashing towards her adversary in a bloodthirsty fashion.. Mein reactively raised her imperial arm and fired upon the Jaegar once more. But none of her shots bore any fruit this time as Seryu used the broad side of the blade on her right arm as a shield, effectively blocking the shots fired. Having closed the distance between the two, the crazed Jaegar quickly used her colossal blade to swat Pumpkin out of Mein's hands, sending the weapon tumbling down the tower's stairway all the way to the bottom. Then, mid-movement, with her left arm, she hurled her left fist into the genius sniper's face. With that one punch, the pink haired assassin went tumbling down the stairway as well, though only to the extent of 6 or 7 stairs.

"Dr. Stylish knew I'd need every advantage I could get to fight demons like you", Seryu said while tapping her forehead with her index finger. "That's why he replaced parts of my skull with pure plates of orichalchum. Even in death, he's watching over me."

Undaunted, Mein carefully regained her footing, rubbing her now bruised right cheek as she did so. "That's a laugh", she said, cold and callously.

"What was that?", Seryu retorted, anger enveloping her eyes.

"I remember Dr. Stylish. He was a coward who ended up killing his own subordinates in a desperate attempt to save his own life. Someone like that would never watch over anyone besides himself."

To which the crazed Jaegar growled. "How dare you! It wasn't enough to murder the man in cold blood. Now you sully his good name! You'll pay for that!"

Full of rage and indignation, Seryu began to charge towards the genius sniper yet again, but Mein did not engage her. Instead, she removed the magnum she had holstered back under her leg and began running down the stairway, no doubt intent upon retrieving her imperial arm.

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Generosity . . . ._ ]**

* * *

Elsewhere, Akame and Leone stealthily drew near the beach, making certain to conceal their movements and remain hidden under the night sky. None of the soldiers over yonder seemed to be aware of their presence, each too focused on the task at hand.

"Looks like they don't really need our help", Leone whispered, referring to the state of affairs within the battle between the Revolutionary and Imperial army soldiers thus far.

"They can handle themselves", Akame replied, also whispering. "For now, we need to focus on taking down the Jaegers. The last thing we want is for them to join this battle."

"Please tell me you got a glimpse at the direction Mein fired at. She said she would shoot the Jaegars first."

To which the red eyed assassin nodded her head. "It was only one shot. It was towards the center most warship at the front of their fleet. We should hurry though. If I was able to see the shot, Kurome definitely saw it as well and was likely able to intercept it. If that's the case, then they probably know where Mein is by now."

Before either Night Raid member could ponder further, their attention was drawn to sudden pain stricken screams from a dozen Revolutionary army soldiers nearby. Intense bursts of electricity were surging all through their bodies to the point of charring them; somehow, they were being electrocuted.

The wicked laughter of a large gruff muscular man could be heard all of the sudden. As if having leapt through the air a considerable distance, the man landed amongst the many soldiers who were being charred death. "That's it? That's the impregnable defense that's been keeping our soldiers at bay? Pathetic. Crossing this beach was child's play. Oh well. At least I released some souls."

Upon seeing this display of power, Leone whispered into Akame's ear. "If he can make it past our front line this easily, he'll have no trouble breaching the fortress."

To which Akame answered with an equally low tone of voice. "I'll handle this. You go on ahead. Don't engage the Jaegars yet though."

With a quick nod of her head, the feral assassin stealthily dashed off into another direction. Akame, meanwhile, walked towards this large muscular figure, nonchalantly unsheathing her imperial arm as she did.

This monster of a man had been basking in the glory of his easy victory over so many soldiers, only to immediately direct his attention towards the approaching Night Raid assassin. "That's some serious killing aura you got there. To have that much blood lust, you must be some piece of work."

"You're one of the four Rakshasa demons, right?", Akame said, still drawing closer.

"It seems our illustrious reputation precedes us. That's right. Sten's the name. I take it you're Shinigami Akame. Your reputation precedes you as well, you know."

"Am I to assume your three associates are here as well?"

"They're in Ali Jinnah right now, so you'll just have to settle for my generosity alone."

"Generosity?"

To which Sten bellowed with wicked laughter. "You're in luck, Shinigami Akame. Today, you've met someone who can lift the burdens of your existence and release your soul once and for all. You see, I'm a very generous man. Most people are content with allowing others to go through their meaningless lives suffering the burdens of humanity, but not me. The way I see it, you deserve to be free."

"I see", the red eyed assassin said, her voice etched with indifference. "Then you'll forgive me if I refuse your generosity with the utmost prejudice."

"That's the spirit!", Sten yelled before pointing his prosthetic hook in young woman's direction. As he did, a large beam of electricity in the shape of an arrow came flying out the hook.

Akame swiftly avoided the blast, moving so quickly that an observer would think she teleported from one space to another. She reappeared directly in front of Sten, momentarily startling him. That moment passed within an instant, however as he threw his left fist at her.

Before the Rakshasa demon even knew it, his left hand, now severed, was sitting on the ground next to him and Akame was already sheathing her sword back into its scabbard. As a result, this large muscular man fell to his knees, gritting his teeth in agony and he noticed black ethereal markings crawling up his lower forearm. "You're even faster than the rumors suggest, shinigami."

"How sad", the Night Raid assassin replied ever so nonchalantly. "To have staked your life on rumors."

"Not my life", he said with a chuckle. Before murasame's markings could travel any further up the man's arm, he used the prosthetic hook to cleave the remains of his left arm clean off, stopping several inches beneath his shoulder. He then proceeded to stop the bleeding, using the intense voltage from said hook to effectively cauterize his wound. "Just some now-useless baggage."

"I wonder if you'll be able to do the same with your head", the red eyed assassin said, unsheathing her blade once more.

"That won't . . . be necessary", Sten replied. After taking a deep breath and exhale, he bent his knees as well as his right arm, slipping into what martial artists often refer to as a horse stance. Without any warning, the electricity emanating out of his hook transitioned to enveloping his entire body, giving him an electrical aura several inches thick.

Akame watched her opponent diligently. She knew better than to blindly rush in against an opponent with abilities she had yet to fully grasp. Waiting for the opponent to launch a counter-attack seemed like the safest option. And so she did, standing firmly in a defensive kendo stance with both hands clenched firmly on the hilt.

Then, like a flicker of light, Sten vanished before the AKame's eyes, causing them to widen for a brief instant. And in that brief instant, the Rakshasa demon reappeared behind the girl with a wicked grin on his face; he swiftly thrusted his hook forward, attempting to stab the assassin in the back.

ButAkame skillfully used both hands to maneuver her blade over her shoulder and down her back, parrying the strike. Though to her misfortune, there was more to Sten's attack. The electricity emanating out of him traveled from his hook to Murasame to Akame's entire body upon contact, electrocuting her with an intense barrage of voltage.

She gritted her teeth, surely in immense pain, but shrugged it off nonetheless, instead turning around to cut her adversary down with horizontal two-handed slash. Sten once again flickered out of sight, however, reappearing a dozen feet away. "Pointless", he said, with boastful laughter. "Thanks to Adramelech here, I'm now moving as fast as lightning. Even you, shinigami, with your great speed, can't keep up with that."

"Maybe", Akame replied, while getting back into a defensive stance. "But if I'm still able to parry your attacks, your reflexes and reaction speed leaves much to be desired."

"We'll just see about that!" He vanished again, appearing behind Akame once more. However, rather than attack, he merely vanished, this time reappearing to the girl's side. He vanished once more, appearing right in front of her. Rather than make a move, he vanished yet again, appearing behind her again. The Rakshasa demon repeated this phase numerous times, appearing and disappearing, appearing and disappearing. He was relentless at this, laughing boastfully throughout the process. "What are you going to do now? Lets see YOUR reaction speed, Shinigami!"

Akame got glimpses of her foe's face as he appeared and disappeared. After several dozen more instances of this, she did something uncharacteristic. With but a single sigh, she sheathed her imperial arm and stood upright.

Seeing this made Sten laugh even harder as he kept appearing and disappearing. "What's the matter? Given up already?"

"No", the red eyed assassin replied with a slight smile. "You've already lost."

"I'll show you who has lost!", he said with a wicked laugh. Suddenly, Sten reappeared directly in front of the young woman, plunging his hook towards her face as he did. Akame was unnerved, however, making no attempt to move. The hook came within 4 inches of stabbing her before it came to a complete halt.

For some strange reason, Sten had stopped his attack, breathing heavily as he did. The electrical aura covering his body suddenly vanished and the large muscular man fell to his knees, breathing heavier and heavier by the moment. "What's . . . happened . . . to me?"

Just the knowing look in Akame's eyes suggested she knew the answer "You're having a heart attack."

"How is this possible?"

To which she answered by saying the following: "One of the early stages of an imperial assassin's training involves developing a high pain threshold against most methods of torture. Electrocution is one of them, but only against low level currents introduced directly into the body. There was no need to train against high level currents. Any torturer worth the salt knows better than to use it. Do you know why? Because high enough levels introduced directly into the body will stop the heart, causing an instant death for an ordinary human. You're clearly not an ordinary human, but prolonged exposure to voltage like the sort you've inadvertently inflicted upon yourself makes even your death assured."

"How embarrassing", the Rakshasa demon uttered before falling facedown to the ground. "To be killed by my own attack."

"Don't consider it embarrassing. Consider it . . . generosity."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Was it worth it? . . . ._ ]**

* * *

Within the fortress, every Revolutionary Army warrior, guards and full-time soldiers, quickly made their way to the entrance. They disregarded all prior duties, heeding Najenda's sole command; protect the entrance. And so they did, all rushing outside to defend the exterior walls surrounding the fortress as well as the main gates.

Lubbock, however, remained behind inside a broom closet on the second floor. There, he sat against a wall, partially cradling Najenda's real body in his arms and looking at it with deep concern in his eyes. The Lord sat at up against the opposite wall, only he was wrapped in chains. Regardless of whether the current chain of events was truly his fault, Lubbock did not trust him in the slightest.

It wasn't long until the Revolutionary Army leader started coming to, signified by his eyes fluttering and the pace of his breaths changing. In mere moments, he awoke from his temporary slumber. He looked around the small room, curious to how he got there no doubt. He then immediately noticed the green haired assassin sitting across him as well as his beloved daughter in a seemingly unconscious state. "What have you done?!", he yelled.

"What have I done?", Lubbock asked incredulously. "That's what I should be asking you. You betrayed us. You betrayed your own daughter. What have YOU done?"

"I swear . . . if you've done anything to her, I'll . . ."

"She's fine! This is just a side effect of Susannoo's trump card. Right now, she's actually on the rooftop fighting Esdeath."

The Lord desperately began attempting to break away his chains. "That's even worse! We've got to get up there and stop her right now!"

"No, we'll stay put right here", Lubbock said with a stern look in his eyes.

"Listen to me, boy! You do NOT know what that woman is capable of. She is a demon beyond all demons. A demon beyond all hell's fury. No one can stand before her and live. No one! She doesn't just bring death. She IS death. You must stop Najenda right now before it's too late."

To which Lubbock sighed. "You don't really sound like a leader at the moment. Hell, you don't even sound like a priest. What happened to hope? What happened to faith? You used to stand for these things."

Hearing these words, hearing these questions, the Path of Peace leader was taken aback for a moment. These were in fact ideas he used to preach, both to his followers and to the army. He wondered to himself why he was all of the sudden not heeding his own teachings, only to be quickly reminded of the lengthy torture he endured at the Ice Queen's hands. He suddenly averted his gaze away from Lubbock, instead sadly looking up the floor. "That was before I met that woman. Please. I don't care what happens to me. But don't let her take my Najenda. She is all I have left in this world."

"All you have left?", Lubbock growled. "What about the entire army you've raised? What about all of the people who have supported us? They're all about to die now because you sold them out! Was it worth it? Was it worth betraying us? Do you even believe your own teachings? How has any of this resulted in peace?"

"I know. I deserve death. I deserve eternal torment for what I've done. And it's a price I will not hesitate to pay after all of this is over."

Then, with a uncharacteristically cold look in his eyes, Lubbock said the following. "Know this. The only reason, the ONLY reason I haven't killed you already is because you are HER father. I'm only down here because she asked me to look after you and her body. However, if anything happens to her today, it will have been YOUR fault and the things I will do to you will make whatever Esdeath did to you look tame by comparison. You have no idea how creative I can get with my imperial arm. You say you deserve death? Damn right you do, but you won't get off that easily. I'll see to that. Eternal torment is right up your alley, pal."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . The Strategist vs The Ice Queen . . . ._ ]**

* * *

On the rooftop, Esdeath continued to evade Najenda's barrage of throwing knives chasing after her. The more the knives chased after her, the better the Ice Queen appeared to get at evading them. "Come now, Najenda. I believe you were saying something about me having already lost. I suggest you go ahead and demonstrate before I lose interest."

"Very well", the Night Raid commander said ever so nonchalantly. Without any delay, she zipped towards the blue haired general, unsheathing the twin daggers at her side as she did so. The blades on said daggers glowed with an ethereal white light much like her many throwing knives.

Though Najenda's movements were incredibly agile, Esdeath didn't appear to be alarmed. On the contrary, she looked excited over the upcoming exchange. She readily held her rapier to the front of her body, slightly above parallel to the ground at her shoulder height and pointed towards her opponent. Any seasoned swordsman would immediately grasp the significance of the Ice Queen's posture; though her stance did not seem to offer much protection, it was one designed to help bait an opponent in closer.

But Najenda did not hesitate. She accepted the Ice Queen's invitation readily, closing the distance within an instant. Her first move was a left handed side swipe. A move Esdeath addressed by taking one step back and parrying the attack simultaneously; obviously, she intended to maintain the range advantage her weapon had.

The Night Raid commander pressed forward with a second attack, following up with a right handed side swipe. Esdeath yet again took a step back, parrying just like before. Unlike last time, however, the Ice Queen instantly followed up with a full-fledged forward thrust, smirking devilishly as she did so.

Najenda immediately ducked out of the way, crouching to the ground as she did so and swinging both of her daggers together, around Esdeath's rapier, in a pincer-like posture. It was as if her blade had been caught by a crab's claw. Esdeathl, nevertheless, pulled her weapon out of the Night Raid commander's hold with the utmost ease. "It's useless, Najenda."

However, at the very moment, the Ice Queen's eye's widened and she came to a troublesome realization. There was a distinctive crack on her prized rapier. "Impossible", she said. "This is composed of high grade reinforced orichalchum. Causing it any kind of damage should be almost impossible."

"Almost is the operative word", Najenda replied. "My weapon is comprised of pure adamantine. It's bad enough you don't have your ice to attack me with. Pretty soon, the same will be said about your precious sword."

"Adamantine? And here I thought that mineral was just a myth. Perhaps the existence of omega class danger beasts isn't so farfetched after all."

"Omega class beasts?", Najenda said, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

To which Esdeath let out a soft chuckle. "It doesn't concern you. Let's stick to the matter at hand."

"Yes, let's", Najenda said, zipping towards her adversary once more. This time her attacks were a lot more aggressive. She launched herself towards the Ice Queen with a rapid flurry of dual wielded swipes and slashes.

Esdeath didn't respond in kind. Unlike the previous engagement, she was purely on defense, constantly stepping back. She relied far more on outright dodging the Night Raid commander's attacks as opposed to parrying them. Now wary of Najenda's intent to break her only weapon, she was exerting a greater degree of caution. " _Very impressive, Najenda. Your imperial arm's strength and abilities combined with your skill and legendary intellect. What a terrifying combination._ "

The Ice Queen leapt further back completely outside her opponent's range. But just as she did this, Najenda's seemingly autonomous set of throwing knives flew at her. This time, all 12 of them came flying at her in 12 different directions. "Careful Esdeath", the Najenda remarked with a knowing smirk. "As you should know by now, the blades on those knives are every bit as sharp and hard as the blades on my daggers."

Esdeath gritted her teeth, coming to fully realize the situation she was in. With the damage her rapier had already suffered, parrying too many of these knives would surely break her weapon. She nonetheless focused herself, using her superhuman athleticism to duck and dodge each and every knife. " _Fortunately, I've already adjusted to the timing."_

"It's useless, Esdeath", Najenda said, suddenly zipping right next to her with another flurry of attacks. "You fell right into my trap."

The Ice Queen swiftly stepped back, but this proved to be pointless as the autonomous throwing knives returned just as quickly, with one grazing her left shoulder and her right temple as she narrowly avoided becoming a human pincushion.

"While you were dodging my throwing knives earlier, I was watching you closely, getting a good grasp of your rhythm. With Susanno's superb attention to detail, locking your movements down into my mind was a piece of cake. Eventually hitting you in a vital area is only a matter of time. You can't afford to aggressively retaliate, less you risk breaking your only means of offense."

Despite the gravity of her situation, she simply smirked with an eager look on her face. She casually wiped away the blood trickling down the right side of her face. "Well done! The last time I received even a cursory wound such as this, it was while training with my father. This sensation; pain, however slight it is, is a sensation I completely forget about. By all means, try to inflict more!"

Boastful words, but none of which would be sufficient to psyche out the Night Raid commander. She went forward, launching yet another flurry of attacks with her daggers. Simultaneously, most of the autonomous daggers came hurling again in multiple directions, all set on the same human pincushion course as last time.

"You're not the only one who has gotten a good grasp of the other person's rhythm, Najenda", Esdeath said, still smirking. She quickly leaped backed away from the Night Rand commander's range. She then managed to avoid each and every throwing knife that came at her.

But as she dodged the last knife, Najenda was back at her, once again swiping at her sideways with the dagger in her left hand. Esdeath responded not by outright dodging, but with a parry. As the two weapons clashed, the crack in the blue haired general's rapier grew deeper, just about at a breaking point. Najenda followed up with a sideway's swipe with her right hand.

However, Esdeath was already following up with a murderous thrust of her rapier aimed directly at the magatama on Najenda's chest, Su's core. With Esdeath's rapier well beyond the range of Najenda's dagger, she was sure to hit before being hit.

And then, without any warning whatsoever, one of the Night Raid commander's autonomous throwing knives came bursting right through her stomach, propelling itself directly at the Ice Queen's face. Not just that, but this throwing knife was moving much faster than any the Ice Queen had adjusted to. Too fast in fact. There was no time to adodge.

All of this was transpiring within a split second, but Esdeath immediately understood her nemesis' true strategy. More importantly, she knew this battle was finished, that Najenda had won and that she was about to die . . . unless . . .

The surprise autonomous throwing knife was within a millimeter of touching Esdeath's forehead when a thick block of dark blue ice, unlike any ice that had been showcased before, covered everything within 20-foot radius of her. As soon as this happened, the Ice Queen found herself exhaling a deep breath of air. "That was close, Najenda. I didn't actually think I would need to resort to this."

She looked around the immediate area, noticing that everything, including Najenda and all twelves of her autonomous throwing knives, were frozen solid. The Night Raid commander, though encased in solid ice, was nonetheless conscious and cognizant of her surroundings. " _This can't be . . . how is she able to use her ice all of the sudden?_ "

"You're no doubt confused", Esdeath said, seemingly aware of what was on her opponent's mind. "After all, I did say that upon using my trump card, I wouldn't able to create ice for every second it was activated. Were I to use it for four seconds, I wouldn't be able to create ice for a total of 32 minutes. Therefore, I shouldn't be able to use ice for another 5 minutes and 43 seconds, right? Suffice to say, that would be correct, had I used my trump card for the full 4 seconds back in your father's office. The truth is that I merely used it for one second."

" _Damnit. She played me like a violin."_

"Under ordinary circumstances, I probably would have been more candid with you if for no other purpose than the sheer challenge, but I had no idea what the full capabilities of your imperial arm was and decided to leave an ace in the hole in case you somehow came up with a strategy to beat me. As a result, you dismissed my explanation of my abilities as my usual sense of thrill-seeking and readily believed that I wouldn't be able to create ice for the full 32 minutes, am I right?"

Najenda attempted to break out the encased ice she was covered by, using every ounce of her strength to do so. But alas, she couldn't move a muscle, much less even blink. Even her autonomous throwing knives wouldn't move. " _What is this? Her ice was never this durable. With Su's strength, I should be able to break out no problem. What's going on?_ "

"Ever since you left the army, I've been coming up with all sorts of ways to push the limits of my powers. This is just one example. I call it my Grade Two Ice. It's a bit more taxing on my stamina than my regular ice, but it's a lot more concentrated and a great deal more durable. Let me put it to you this way: Even if an entire building were to collapse on top of the ice you're frozen in right now, it wouldn't leave even a single scratch. Speaking of scratches . . ." Esdeath looked down upon her cracked rapier. With but a single gesture, her blade became laced with her grade 2 ice as well, effectively repairing it in an instant. "Good as new. No, better than new actually. I'd love to see how it stacks up to your adamantine, but I'm afraid the battle is over."

Najenda watched the Ice Queen, still trying desperately to escape the ice she was encased in, but it appeared to be of no use. How quickly the tables had turned to a hopeless situation. She suddenly heard Su's voice in her head. " _That's enough. Return to your body. I'll take care over from here._ "

" _No!"_ , Najenda eplied. " _She's going to kill you. Just give me a moment. There has to be a way out of this. There always is. I just need to think!"_

" _If you're still in my body, we'll both die! I won't allow that!"_

Sensing that the end of the battle was imminent, the Ice Queen took a moment to bask in her victory. "Ingenious strategy by the way. You have my sincerest praise for that was by far the closest anyone has ever come to killing me. All that talk about adjusting to my rhythm and breaking my sword? It was true, but it was also misdirection, wasn't it? Your real goal all along was to hit me with that throwing knife at the end. You decided to make me think I had adjusted to the speed of your throwing knives, never disclosing their full speed until you were absolutely certain I was vulnerable. You also took full advantage of your imperial arm's regenerative abilities, using its body as cover for your surprise attack. My my, I can't underestimate you for a single moment, can I? If I'm the strongest in the Grand Empire, you are certainly the smartest. All the more reason using your father was so effective. The Najenda I know would've at least had some lingering suspicion something was off, but love seems to have the tendency of making people think and behave irrationally."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Not quite in the nick of time . . . ._ ]**

* * *

As Run continued to monitor the battle on the beach, one of the officers on the ship approached him. "Warrant officer Stewart reporting, sir! There appears to be an unidentified air manta approaching from the north!"

"And?", Run replied, his voice full of disinterest. "Air mantas are homogeneous to this region. It's not anything out of the ordinary."

"Sir! Be that as it may, our scouts are reporting that someone is riding on the manta and it's not one of ours!"

"Hmm. It's probably one of the Revolutionary Armies spies returning back to headquarters to make a report. Regardless, he's got no idea what he's getting himself into. Use the canons to shoot him down at once."

"But sir, with all due respect, didn't the prime minister order us not to use the canons?"

"He ordered us not to use the canons to fire upon anything on the island. A lone air manta in the sky is clearly not on the island and is thus acceptable target practice."

Hearing his orders loud and clear, the officer gave a firm salute. "At once, sir!"

With that, several of the war ships set their aim on the lone air manta quickly approaching the bay. Sitting upon this flying danger beast was none other than Tatsumi who was deeply confused about the sight below. A full armada of warships drifting near the Revolutionary Army base made sense; the Revolutionary Army was an army after all, thus it wouldn't be farfetched for them to have access to such an arsenal. On the other hand, the Incursio wielder did not know what to make of the battle taking place on the beach. It had crossed his mind that the soldiers were perhaps engaging in a training exercise, but then why would they be training at night as well as be using live ammunition?

Before he could dwell further on the scene, canon fire from multiple ships blasted towards him, each shot fortunately missing. "Hey! I'm on your side!", he yelled.

The ships nonetheless kept firing, prompting the young man to activate his Incursio armor. Before another shell could be fired, he jumped off the air manta, diving straight down into the sea. As he did this, an explosive shell from one of the ships finally hit the flying danger beast, causing the innocent creature to explode into flames.

As Tatsumi swam to the surface for air, a spotlight from of the warships was flashed upon the area. Thinking quickly, he used the demon armor's camouflage ability to render himself effectively invisible. Thus, as the spotlight flashed over him, no one was any the wiser. He then plunged back down underwater, deactivating his camouflage power as he did. Moreover, he began swimming towards the island, thoroughly confused on the current state of affairs. " _Why are they shooting me? Do they think I'm the enemy_?"

He continued swimming, eventually coming back up for air upon getting significantly closer to the beach. There, his eyes were confronted with the terrifying truth. The Revolutionary Army soldiers were locked in battle with Imperial Army forces. " _No! This place is supposed to be secret! How did they get here?"_

To Tatsumi, the next course of action required no thought. No deep contemplation. No weighing of the evidence. He immediately leaped his way out of the water, planting his feet firmly on the beach sand as he landed. Around him were numerous soldiers of the imperial army, all confused about what the infamous 100 man slayer, to their knowledge, was doing dropping in out of nowhere. Nevertheless, no orders needed to be given on what to do next. He was a well known enemy of the Grand Empire, even if it wasn't known that the real 100 man slayer was long dead.

"Kill him!", one soldier screamed, as others pointed their rifles at the assassin.

Tatsumi reacted with the utmost swiftness, cutting ten soldiers down with his spear in mere seconds. As he did so, he could feel bullets flickering against his body from all sides. This sensation did not concern him, however. _"It'll take a lot more than that to even come close to piercing this armor_."

Though the Night Raid assassin's sudden participation in the battle did not go unnoticed. Both Run and Wave caught sight of the spectacle aboard their warship. Wave had even already activated Grand Chariot. "That one is mine. We've got a score to settle."

But with a mere shake of the head, Run didn't seem to share his comrade's sentiments. "No, that will be unnecessary."

"Wasn't this your plan?", Wave replied, his voice full of skepticism. "Wait until Night Raid shows up, then intervene."

"Who said we're not going to intervene?", Run asked, smirking knowingly. "Warrant officer Stewart!"

The officer from earlier marched up to the blond haired Jaegar, stood before him and gave yet another firm salute. "Sir!"

"Inform the troops to pull out at once!"

Back on the beach, Tatsumi continued to pit himself against the empire's hoards, mowing down as many as he could. So much so that entire groups ceased attempting to make their way up the incline, instead focused on overwhelming the lone Night Raid member. And unlike those old martial arts films where mobs of enemy henchmen would be gracious enough to fight the hero one at a time, the soldiers were attacking him from all sides.

Many had abandoned the use of their rifles as anything other than club to attack with. With so many attacking him at once, the Incursio wielder was starting to struggle. So many men were latching onto him, doing everything they could to hold him down while others attacked. His armor still protected him of course, but the sheer numbers were starting to become a problem.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Leone dropped in, knocking away a number of the soldiers latched onto her companion with a flying side kick. Her assistance freed up enough leverage for Tatsumi to knock away the remaining soldiers who had grabbed onto him.

"What kind of assassin runs out into the open to take on an entire army by himself?", the feral assassin teasingly said, placing her back up against Tatsumi's as she did. "You know it's bad when you're getting that kind of advice from ME of all people."

He twirled his spear around several times before adopting a combat stance, his back also placed close to Leone's "The kind who has no clue what's going on. Mind explaining?"

"Sure. You want the short version or the long version?" She smirked, punching one soldier hard enough to make his head spin 180 degrees. "Always wanted to do that."

Tatsumi swiftly decapitated three soldiers with a single swing of his spear. "Make it quick."

Leone continued slaying everything in front of her. "Short version it is. Esdeath somehow found out about this place. Now she's here to kill everyone and she's brought an army with her."

Hearing the Ice Queen's part in this made the Incursio wielder widen his eyes in shock beneath his helm. His heart beat sped up and he was at a loss for words.

"The boss isn't giving this up without a fight though", Leone noted, still simultaneously focused on killing enemy combatants. "You, me, Mein and Akame are supposed to deal with the Jaegers covertly, but I think you just blew our cover, so now things might get pretty messy."

Before the battle could continue, a war horn of some sort could be heard from the Jaegar's warship. A loud and bombastic sound no less. As if knowing the significance of the sound, the imperial soldiers immediately ceased their progress on braving their way up the beach's incline. Even the soldiers contending with Tatsumi and Leone ceased their efforts, instead heading back into their boats and making their way back to their warships.

There were many at the top of the beach incline insisting that now was the time to strike. To cut down the imperial army as they had a steadfast retreat, but superior officers positioned all throughout ordered their men to hold their positions, noting that their high ground advantage was the only reason the battle had progressed as far as it did and that giving it up could turn the tide's in the Grand Empire's favor.

Leone didn't hesitate to kill a few stragglers, laughing at the sight of them running away. "That'll teach him!", she said boastfully.

Tatsumi, still clad in his Incursio armor, didn't appear to share his companion's desire to bask in their apparent victory. Other matters seemed to be on his mind. "Where's Esdeath?", he asked with the utmost seriousness in his voice.

"I think her and the boss are still duking it out on the fortress' rooftop", she replied.

With a nod of his head, Tatsumi started walking up the incline, headed towards the fortress. He didn't make any more than five footsteps before Leone sprinted in front of him and firmly stood in his way. "What do you think you're doing? We've still got the Jaegars to deal with."

"The Jaegars don't matter. I'm going to the one person who can stop this madness."

Leone looked upon her comrade in disbelief. "She's not going to stop. You know that."

"You don't know her like I do. If I can talk to her for just a minute, she might-"

"Leone is right", Akame said rather bluntly, suddenly appearing on the scene with Sten's imperial arm tide to her waist. "You confronting Esdeath now is only going to make things worse. Think of how she might react when she finds out that you're part of Night Raid. All the lies you've told her up until now. Think of what she might do to your village."

Tatsumi found himself at a loss of words yet again, clearly not having thought that far ahead. He wondered about this for a few moments, never having considered how Esdeath would react were she to have discovered that he had been working to undermine her the entire time he had known her.

But alas, such thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a loud screech and the flapping of wings coming from the north. Akame, Leone and Tatsumi each impulsively looked towards the sky in that direction, quickly attempting to deduce the cause of this uncanny sound. With but a glimpse, the answer was all too clear. It was a full grown red scaled dragon speedily soaring towards the beach.

In meager seconds, the monstrous dragon reached the air above the beach. And out from its mouth it poured a pillar of intense scorching flames burning everything in its path. The heat from the flames was so intense that it instantly liquefied every grain of sand it touched upon contact. Thereafter, the beast quickly set its sights on the three Night Raid assassins, swooping in towards them as it did. The three began to make a run to safety, but it was too late, for the dragon was already above them with more blames about to pour out of its mouth. Thinking quickly, Tatsumi threw his arms around Akame and Leone, huddled them together and wrapped his cape around them as he did. He presumably intended to act as a human shield. There was no guarantee that even his armor could withstand the oncoming flames, but he didn't hesitate to try.

Tatsumi braced himself for the coming blaze. Yet for some reason, he didn't feel the scorching inferno he expected, much less a mere ember. He momentarily wondered whether his armor was truly that durable, but quickly shrugged aside such thoughts as he removed his cape from his two companions and looked all around the immediate vicinity. Everything within a 20 foot radius was not scorched or liquefied. It was as if the dragon had intentionally missed them.

"What the hell just happened?", Leone asked, unable to believe she was still alive.

Akame looked into the sky, keeping her eyes peeled at the flying dragon soaring around the air and causing havoc. She immediately noticed a figure riding on the dragon's back. "Kurome."

"Your sister?!", Leone exclaimed in surprise. "But how did she get a hold of a danger beast like that?"

"I honestly can't say, but it does explain why she spared us. In order for Yatsufusa to work, she needs to kill the target with the blade. Burning us, me included, would have made that impossible. She must've realized I was with you two at the last moment and pulled back."

"How do we fight something like that?", Tatsumi asked.

To which the red eyed assassin bluntly answered. "We don't. At least not at the moment. None of us are equipped to deal with a danger beast like that as long as it's in the sky."

Having witnessed the dragon's destructive capacity firsthand, the litany of Revolutionary Army superior officers throughout the top of the sandy incline ordered their troops to pull back as they were clearly in no position to deal with such a menace. But for many of the troops, it was too late as the dragon specifically started hurling flames upon them, liquefying their bodies no different than the sand. Either way, the line these soldiers had been holding was most certainly broken.

Run was closely monitoring this scene with a pair of binoculars. "What was Kurome thinking? She had them right where she wanted them. The whole point of holding her back until now was to definitively kill or at least cripple Night Raid."

Wave was still in his armor, practically raring to go down to the beach and deal with the assassins himself. He was nonetheless still paying enough attention to his comrade's strategy to comment on how it had played out thus far. "She's not going to kill them if she thinks it means killing her sister. At least not on her own terms. Have you already forgotten? She can't definitively tell the difference between alive and dead."

To which Run sighed. "Oh well. It matters not. Now that we've played our ace in the hole, we may as well capitalize on it."

"Does that mean-"

"Yes, it does. You go on ahead. I'll ready the troops at once. Their army is probably going to hold themselves out at their fortress, probably intent upon turning this into a battle of attrition. The Prime Minister wouldn't permit us to bring any siege weaponry and Kurome probably won't be willing to be of much help with her new puppet if her sister holes herself up in the fortress as well. Luckily, the presence of our commander will more than make up for that disadvantage."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Fortune favors the prepared . . . ._ ]**

* * *

There, in the eastern tower, amidst evading close quarters combat with Seryu, Mein was getting closer and closer to reaching the bottom. Each time it looked like Seryu was closing in, the genius sniper would pelt the crazed Jaegar with a shot from her magnum. Though Seryu blocked each shot with the broad side of her sword, the power behind each shot was enough to knock her back, effectively keeping her from closing the distance.

This game of hit and run continued until Mein finally reached the bottom of the tower. Pumpkin was but a few feet away from the door leading outside. Without any further delay, she dove towards her imperial arm.

"Koro, knock that door down and use your roar! Now!", Seryu shouted. The dog like imperial arm was still in its berserker state. It had been standing outside the tower next to the entrance, no doubt waiting for additional orders from its master. Hearing her latest command, it did just as she ordered.

Before Mein could reach her imperial arm, she saw the monstrous canine thrust one of its fists clean through the door, shattering into pieces as it did. The bio-weapon then opened its mouth and let out a bellowing roar that could be heard all across the island. The genius sniper then gritted her teeth in response, taking the time to cover both of her ears with her hands.

Seryu immediately leapt off the stairway she was on, and swooped down towards her adversary in a once-again effort to deliver the coup de grace. The crazed Jaegar appeared to be immune to the effects of Koro's roar, leaving her un-stunned.

"Hey dumbass", Mein said, suddenly removing her hands from her ears and aiming her magnum squarely at Seryu's chest. "What part of prepared don't you understand?"

Befuddled, Seryu tried desperately to use her sword as a shield once more, but she was too late, for Mein had already pulled the trigger and a bullet had already flown clean through her chest , the force of which knocked her body back several feet yet again. Just as this had occurred, Koro's ceased roaring, instead quickly reverting back to its normal state.

Much like the head wound she received, trickles of blood started seeping out of Seryu's chest. She nonetheless regained her footing even quicker than last time, snarling as she got back on her foot. "How dare you continue to use these underhanded tactics. Have you no honor? It figures that someone as evil as you would resort to such trickery in a battle."

"What's that?", the genius sniper said mockingly, removing miniature ear plugs from her ears with her left hand while picking up her imperial arm with her right. "I couldn't hear you. I was too busy using my head." Indeed, the Mein recalled the subtle fashion in which she slipped said ear plugs into her ears while running down the tower's stairs and how Seryu was much too focused on blocking the shots fired out of her magnum.

"Don't think this changes anything! These little tricks won't save you forever!"

"You mean like the little trick you used to murder my friend?", Mein retorted before dropping her magnum to the ground and once again adjusting the parts on her imperial arm; pumpkin was swapped to its long barrel form

The crazed Jaegar looked down in frustration at her right arm, still functioning as a colossal blade. It was increasingly obvious that she was long overdue for a weapon change. So obvious that she immediately ran towards the exit, Koro being on the other side. "That wicked wretch got what was coming to her and so will you!"

But true to word, Mein had prepared for this encounter and was thus readily aware of her opponent's intentions. With but the pull of pumpkin's trigger, she fired an energy beam at the other woman's right shoulder, blowing her right arm clean off. "You just don't get it, do you?"

Seryu immediately looked down on what remained of her arm in great frustration, seeing sparks fly out of where her right shoulder once rested. "Damn you."

Mein followed up by setting her aim on the crazed Jaegar's left shoulder, preparing to blow it off as well. But just as she did this, Seryu turned her head slightly towards the sniper, the hidden semi-automatic gun in her mouth protruding outwards. She filed multiple shots towards Mein's face, but the Night Raid assassin used the broadside of Pumpkin as a shield.

Using that temporary distraction, Seryu dove towards her biological imperial arm with her left arm extended out. "Koro! Now!"

Mein reactively regained her footing from her adversary's temporary distraction, only to notice that the crazed Jaegar left forearm was now replaced with a giant armor reinforced missile. " _What the? Is she out of her mind?"_

Seryu visibly appeared to be struggling to hold her left arm up. With no right arm, holding such a weapon had to be a difficult task. She nevertheless maintained a crazed devilish look in her eyes. "Number 6: King Yemma's Judgment!"

No more than 10 seconds later, a massive explosion could be seen from the eastern tower. And with that explosion, the entire structure came crumbling down. A sight which caught just about everyone's attention, including Esdeath's, Wave's, Run's, Kurome's, Leone's, Akame's and Tatsumi's.

 ** _End of chapter_ **. . .

* * *

 _A/N:_ Yet another chapter complete! By my calculations, that leaves us with 6 more chapters to go in this fic! As I said earlier, this part of the fic will be wrapped up by the next chapter. Lemme know what you think! And as always, thanks for reading!


	12. Kill the Revolution - Part Three

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 **A/N:** We've once again made our way to another new chapter! The last part of the 'Kill the Revolution' arc no less! Before we get started, just a few points to make:

#1. As always, thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them from the depths of my heart.

#2. In light of a recent review, I suppose I should make it very clear that this fic is a rewrite of the anime. I'm acting in the place of the script-writers. What that means is that Tatsumi and Esdeath aren't the focus 100% of the time. Nevertheless, they are the most important characters in the story as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully, this chapter and the next 5 chapters make that very clear!

#3. Lovehates333, I enjoyed the constructive review! I hope chapter 6 didn't turn you off this fic! There is a method to my madness. Although the universe-explanation for Tatsumi's explanation will be delved into throughout the next two chapters, I don't mind giving the out-of-universe explanation here and now. I think the original series gave Tatsumi an incomplete character arc. I just never really get the sense of solid growth as a character from him after Bulat's death. He also doesn't really seem to have any character flaws after that. As long as I write Tatsumi (or any character for that matter), there will always be character flaws. That's just my way of viewing things!

With that out of the way, here we go again!

* * *

 _ **Updated on 1/21/17 - Fixed prose and grammatical errors.**_

* * *

 _ **Episode 25: Kill the Revolution – Part 3**_

Tatsumi, Leone and Akame had been running back towards the fortress, no doubt to regroup with the rest of the army now that holding the line at the beach was no longer a feasible strategy. It was while running back that they spotted an explosion at the tower to the easternmost corner of the island. An explosion that was followed by the tall structure imploding into itself.

The three came to a sudden halt, Leone's eyes bulging at the uncanny sight. "You see that?"

To which Akame nodded her head. Tatsumi, on the other hand, was a bit perplexed; having just arrived on the island, he didn't really grasp the significance of what had just transpired. "What's the big deal?", he asked.

"Mein was on that tower!", Leone responded, her voice full of concern.

"Then there's no time to lose!", he shouted, quickly sprinting in that direction.

Akame and Leone nodded their heads, both in full agreement with Tatsumi's sentiments. However, before they could join him in his pursuit, they both paused, sensing the aura of a spirited adversary drawing near. Akame immediately called out to the Incursio wielder. "Watch out!"

But before Tatsumi could heed his red eyed companion's warning, he was smashed into the ground with an almost overwhelming force by a single dropkick. "Grand Fall!", said a familiar voice.

"Well I'll be!", Leone said, greetingly waving her hand in the air. "Hey there, Wave! Are we going to fight again? Gosh, we have got to stop meeting like this!"

The lone Jaegar readily regained his footing from his attack just then, turning his attention towards the feral assassin as he did. "Um . . . in case you haven't noticed, we're enemies!"

"Enemies, frenemies. What's the difference? Look, after we both beat the hell out of each other again, whadd'ya say we get hammered together? Your treat!"

"Surrender peacefully, turn yourself in, swear allegiance to the Grand Empire and then I might consider splitting the tab."

"All that just to split the tab?! You're the guy! You're supposed to pay for my drink! Or in my case, drinks and drinks and drinks, but still!"

"You're inviting ME, but I'm the one who has to pay for the . . . wait a minute, why the heck am I even having this conversation?!"

To which Leone laughed while shrugging her shoulders. "Who knows? It's weird, you know! Most of the people we kill totally suck as people, but you're different somehow!"

Akame placed her hand on the hilt of her imperial arm, preparing to unsheath her mighty weapon. "We don't have time for this."

Noticing this, Wave averted his gaze towards the feared red eyed assassin. "You're right, we don't. I wanted to settle the score with the 100 man slayer here, but you'll do just as well. I won't let Kurome dirty her hands by killing her own sister."

"Kurome won't be killing anyone", she said, swiftly removed Murasame from its sheath and pointing the blade at the Grand Chariot wielder. "And neither will you."

At that moment, Tatsumi began to regain his footing. The attack he had been hit by sent his body six clean feet through the ground, but he made his way out, albeit with a moderate level of discomfort. " _There's that attack of his again. He damn near broke my back just now. Had Akame not warned me at the last second, I wouldn't have been able to brace myself and might have died. Will have to watch for that._ "

Leone took note of her companion's quick recovery, smirking at the sight. She then shifted her eyes back towards Wave. "All fun and games aside, you don't really think you're going to beat the three of us at once, do you? No offense, but based on our last fight, you'll definitely get your ass kicked."

"We can't afford to fight him together", Tatsumi interjected. "For all we know, Mein could be on the verge of death as we speak. Fighting him will only slow us down. You two go on ahead. I'll take care of him alone."

"You sure about this?", Akame asked her armored companion.

To which Tatsumi responded, twirling his spear around before slipping into a combat stance. "I'll manage. Get going!"

"You heard him, Akame!", Leone said, grabbing the red eyed assassin's free hand and sprinting in the direction of the eastern tower. "He's acting so cool right now! Lets not his moment!"

As they ran away, Wave didn't bother to give chase. Rather, he focused his attention on his fellow armored adversary. "You fled the last time we fought, but you seem more willing to engage me this time. Why is that?"

"Truth be told, I had no interest in fighting you back then. And even as we speak, I don't wish to do it. But you leave me no choice if it means protecting my friends."

"Your friends? Is that all this is about to you? Not too long ago, I lost a good friend to this madness. He was a good man with a wife and daughter. He didn't deserve his fate. But that's the price to be paid when a war is being waged, isn't it? And if this rebellion continues, his life won't be the only one to have been stolen from him. Many more innocent lives will be lost in the crossfire."

"Lives were already being stolen thanks to the Prime Minister! He's brought nothing but suffering and despair to this country! We're trying to change that!"

Without a second thought, the lone Jaegar leapt high into the air, tumbling mid-flight as he did. Then, like an anvil, he came plummeting down over his rival with an axe-kick. Tatsumi used both of his hands to hold out the shaft portion of his spear, using it to brace and block his opponent's attack. An attack with such power that the Night Raid assassin's feet sunk multiple inches into the ground as it landed.

Wave propelled himself off the shaft of the Incursio wielder's spear, leaping over his head in the process and mounting a follow-up attack from behind, this time a straight right punch. A move which Tatsumi readily addressed by swiftly turning around and catching the punch with his left hand. Having latched tightly onto Wave's right hand, the Night Raid assassin used his other hand to thrust his spear straight towards his opponent's throat.

The Grand Chariot wielder, however, caught the spear by its shaft with his left hand, narrowly avoiding the blade end. He proceeded to follow-up his attack with a straight right kick into the lone assassin's solar plexus, sending him hurling away several yards.

Tatsumi managed to regain his footing in little time, but was visibly reeling from that last attack. " _That's odd. For some reason, it doesn't look like Incursio offers the usual amount of protection whenever I take any damage from this guy. I wonder if he has the same disadvantage."_

Still holding Tatsumi's spear in his left hand, Wave promptly tossed it to the ground, walking towards his adversary as he did. "Everything you say about the Prime Minister is true and unlike some people, I'm not blind to that. But the ends never justify the means! It's your methods that are the problem. When I was in Reispan, I saw firsthand the kind of country your methods create."

"My methods? What have your methods gotten you?!", Tatsumi exclaimed before bursting towards his opponent like a cannonball.

"They've kept me from becoming a cold blooded murderer for one!", Wave replied, moving in the exact same fashion.

Both jolted towards the other with equal speed and intensity. And as they reached each other, they both threw straight right punches. Their fists collided against one another, creating a visible shockwave covering everything in a 10-foot radius.

Amidst the clash, thoughts of having assassinated the ambassador in Bestimmung once again resurfaced in Tatsumi's mind. But that wasn't going to stop him from pressing the argument. "And the Prime Minister is NOT a murderer? Esdeath is NOT a murderer? How is sitting back and doing nothing while letting other people do the dirty work make you any better?"

All of the sudden, thoughts of the Reispan ambassador's resurfaced in Wave's mind. Particularly how she nearly murdered everyone in the town of Sin Esperanza, how Bols ended up sacrificing his life to save everyone. Troublesome thoughts these were as the Jaegar constantly found himself wondering how things would've been different had he not defended such a loathsome woman from being assassinated by Night Raid.

* * *

 **[ _. . . . And the victor is . . . ._ ]**

* * *

Elsewhere, the eastern tower had been utterly desecrated. All that remained was smoke and rubbled remains. Even so, despite the massive destruction that had just been wrought, the sound of a young woman panting could be heard in the midst of it all.

It was none other than Mein who was lying eagle spread on her back, still with her hand loosely on the trigger of her imperial arm which was still in its long barrel form. What's more, the twin-tails on her hair were undone, leaving her long pink hair going straight down. Strangely enough, there wasn't a single trace a rubble lying around within a 5-foot radius of her.

As the genius sniper continued to inhale and exhale, the last ten seconds of the battle flashed through her mind so readily and clearly. There, Seryu Ubiquitous was about to launch a large armor enforced missile at her. The likes of which would surely kill them both were it to explode at the range the two combatants were standing at. Fortunately, the crazed Jaegar's right arm had been blown off, leaving her with no sufficient means of stabilizing the massive missile before firing it. As a result, the instant the auburn haired Jaegar fired off said weapon, it vertically veered off course, instead hitting the top of the tower. What ensued was the explosion that could be seen all across the island. And although neither combatant got caught up within the blast itself, the force of it was still powerful enough to knock them both to the ground.

Despite not getting caught up in the blast, there was still the matter of the tower imploding. The falling debris would surely crush anyone in or near the tower. Lying on her back and thinking quickly, the genius sniper fired several consecutive blasts to eviscerate any and all rubble that would have otherwise fallen on her. Given the pinch she was in, each blast she fired was more than enough to accomplish this.

But now, the genius sniper was reeling in pain. Getting knocked down in the fashion she did no doubt fractured a number of bones. She was without a doubt in need of some immediate medical attention. "No . . . not done yet", she said to herself, mustering up most of her strength to just to stand. "If I can just find a comfortable place to sit down and snipe, I'll be good."

"We're not finished yet!", said a voice nearby. Mein swiftly turned her head in that direction, only to notice that it was her crazed Jaegar opponent, or rather what remained of her. Seryu had managed to crawl her way out of the rubble that had fallen on her as a result of the explosion, only her legs were now missing and trickles of blood were now trickling down out of one of her eyes. Despite this, the Jaegar was using her remaining arm to crawl her way towards the Night Raid assassin.

"Good", Mein coldly remarked, walking towards her mortally wounded nemesis. "I get to kill you up close and personal."

"It's not over yet", Seryu growled. "Mark my words: EVIL NEVER WINS!"

"It looks like we finally have something we can agree on", Mein said, placing pumpkin's barrel up against the crazed Jaegar's forehead. "Got any last words before you rot in hell?"

And yet reason, hearing this taunt only made Seryu laugh in a devilish fashion. "Just two: KORO, ATTACK!"

Instantly understanding the implication, Mein jumped back, away from her maimed opponent's body. But despite taking this evasive action, she simply wasn't quick enough. Almost instantly, the beast like biological weapon jumped out of the ground in its large form., catching the genius sniper's left leg in its mouth as it did.

And much to Seryu delight, Mein screamed out in immense pain. Mortally wounded as she was, Seryu could not help but maintain a devilish grin at the sight of this. "See?! See?! I told you! Good always triumphs over evil! Finish her, Koro! Chew her to pieces!"

But without sparing another thought, the genius sniper immediately ceased screaming, instead placing the barrel of her imperial up against Koro's face "I don't think I've ever been in a bigger pinch!", she uttered with a knowing smirk on her lips.

Seryu widened her eyes at the very instant, the look on her face going from devilish delight to utter terror. "KORO, RELE-"

But it was too late. Out from the barrel of pumpkin came a blast of energy as wide as a humpback whale. The blast enveloped everything in its path, including Seryu and her biological imperial arm.

With that, Mein fell to her back and was once again reeling in pain. She glanced towards her left leg, relieved to see that it was intact. There were still remains of Koro's mouth surrounding her hip, but said remains were slowly winnowing into dust. " _Not regenerating. I guess it really is dead this time. Thank God. I really don't have that much else in me."_

"Mein! Mein! Are you all right?!", said a quickly approaching voice nearby.

Still on her back, the pink haired assassin turned her head to the right, only to see Leone and Akame running towards her. "It depends on what you mean by alright. Bunch of bruises bunch of broken bones and my hair is a complete mess."

"Yeah, but you're alive", Akame said, gracious to see that her comrade was still alive.

To which the genius sniper let out a small, albeit painstaking chuckle. "Damn. It hurts to laugh."

"We saw that blast just now", Leone noted. "What happened?"

Tears began to pour out of Mein's eyes, but she nonetheless smiled happily. "I finally did it. I finally avenged Sheele."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . No longer compatible . . . ._ ]**

* * *

From the fortress' rooftop, Esdeath marveled at the events unfolding throughout the rest of the island. The destruction of the eastern tower and Kurome razing many of the soldiers stationed on the beach as well as ones retreating back to the fortress. She also noticed a full battalion of imperial army soldiers marching up the beach unopposed. "This is turning out to be quite the show, eh Najenda?"

Of course, the Night Raid commander remained frozen solid in the Ice Queen's Grade Two ice, still merged with her imperial arm. She continued to try and think of ways to get out of her current predicament, but none came to mind. A fact of which Su was increasingly aware of.

Inside Su's mind was an astral realm of sorts. And there, both Su and Najenda appeared there in the form of astral projections.

"I'm sorry, but splitting apart is our only option", stoically said the biological imperial arm.

"No!", Najenda retorted. "Esdeath is still basking in the moment. We still have time to come up with a counter-measure."

"This isn't like you", Su responded, shaking his head. "You're usually more objective about the situation."

"I am being objective!", she fired back. "The minute Esdeath leaves this rooftop, especially now with her ice powers back, everyone downstairs is as good as dead. We have no choice but to come up with something."

"Esdeath is not yet downstairs. Once you're back in your body, you can plan something. Leave me behind."

"How many times must I tell you?! The answer is no!"

Just as he heard this, Su gave perhaps the most human expression he had ever mustered. The imperial arm sighed, only for a small but sincere smile to form on his lips. "I was created to be a tool. A living weapon. An instrument for any master I was compelled to serve. I've heeded to every order you've ever given, no matter how mundane. In my eyes, your word is law. Or rather . . . it was."

Najenda was taken aback by that last statement. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that as of this moment, we are no longer compatible. And so you are no longer my master."

Just as Su said this, the Night Raid commander's astral projection began to fade away. "Stop this this instant! That's an order!"

But her words fell on deaf ears. Su just stood there, watching as she vanished completely. Then, just as her projection disappeared, he smiled cheerfully, thinking back on all the pleasant times he had had with both her and the rest of the members of Night Raid up until then. "You are no longer my master; you are my friend."

Back in the real world, Esdeath watched with fascination as the biological weapon reverted back to its normal form, albeit still frozen solid in the ice. "Najenda must've flown the coop. A pity. That just leaves you then."

The Ice Queen pointed her rapier up again the part of the ice where the magatama on Su's chest was the closest to, glaring at it intently as she did.

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Out of the frying pan . . . ._ ]**

* * *

Down in the broom closet where Lubbock had been hiding, Najenda's eyes swiftly flew wide open and her real body was full of life once more. She promptly looked around the room, noticing her green haired subordinate as well as her chained up father. It was only then that she realized what had just transpired, gritting her teeth as she did. " _Damnit Su. Why'd you have to go and do something like that? I could have found a way to save you!"_

"Miss Najenda!", Lubbock exclaimed, surprised to see his commander awake all of the sudden. "Did you do it? Did you beat Esdeath?"

She promptly rose to her feet. "I'm afraid not. Esdeath is bound to be coming down here shortly and we're out of options."

Lubbock looked upon his commander with gleaming curiosity in his eyes. "Then what are we going to do?"

"The only thing we can do", Najenda heavily sigh before opening the door leading outside the broom closet. "Endure."

Hearing this sentiment, the Lord rustled and tussled his chains, still unable to break free "No, you mustn't face her! You cannot win!"

But Najenda paid her father's words no heed. She instead continued to address her lone subordinate present. "Lubbock, head down to the basement and retrieve every imperial arm. Afterwards, secure them on my personal air manta. You'll find it resting near the awning in the garden out back."

Lubbock, of course, was befuddled upon hearing this."What are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting that you take my father as well as the imperial arms and flee the island at the first opportunity."

"Miss Najenda, will all due respect, you can't be serious! You're asking me to leave you and everyone else behind. I can't do that!"

"But you must", she replied ever so curtly. "Think about it. As it stands, we can at least keep the remaining imperial arms from falling into the Prime Minister's grubby hands. That way, any future resistance that stands up to him will have far better odds. Also see to it that my father receives the best psychological treatment money can buy. The funds in the Revolutionary Army's offshore treasury should more than suffice. You'll need him. Once whatever Esdeath has done to him is cured, he'll be a damn good leader again. The rest of us will do what we can to minimize Esdeath's forces and slow her down."

Just the look on Lubbock's face; it was clear he was frustrated. This was perhaps the first command Najenda had ever given him that he gave a second thought. Nevertheless, he found the strength to swallow up his frustration and reluctantly nod his head. "Alright, I'll retrieve the imperial arms and I'll help your father."

To which Najenda returned his nod before immediately departing the room. "I can always count on you!"

Lubbock followed suit, running out of the room as well after closing the door behind him, but in the direction towards the staircase leading down to the basement.

Najenda meanwhile ran out of the fortress' interior, coming to a full stop as she saw legions of Revolutionary Army warriors protecting the main gates as well as legions running up from the beach. " _Good. They're at least sticking to my plan. If my hunches are correct, the imperial forces will try to breach the gates directly. It'll remain a battle of attrition for hours on end, provided the Jaegars are otherwise kept in check. But that still leaves Esdeath open to attack our flank and I don't stand a chance against her as I am. Still, I've got to come up with something, at least to delay her long enough for Lubbock to leave."_

The Night Raid commander turned around, about to head back inside the fortress' interior, when she noticed three of her subordinates approaching her out of the corner of her eye. It was Akame, Leone and Mein. Mein was hunched over Leone's shoulder, clearly unable to walk on her own.

"Boss, we've got a problem", said the feral assassin. "Somehow, Akame's little sister got a hold of an Ultra Class danger beast and used it to raze the beach."

Najenda didn't seem the least bit surprised however. "Esdeath . . . 'informed' me on the rooftop earlier. What happened to Mein?"

Despite her current posture, the genius sniper was still conscious and cognizant of her surroundings. "I'm okay! Or at least I should be in about a few weeks."

To which Leone laughed boastfully. "She's more than okay! She just took out a Jaegar!"

"First good news I've heard all night. What about the other Jaegars?", Najenda asked.

To which Akame responded. "Kurome is still razing the beach. We have yet to encounter the one they call Run. And Tatsumi is holding off the one they call Wave as we speak. We'll head back and assist him as soon as we've found a safe place for Mein."

But the Night Raid commander staunchly shook her head. "Negative. Lubbock should be in the basement right about now. Leave Mein near the stair case. He'll tend to her as soon as he comes back up. I'll need the two of you to assist me in dealing with Esdeath."

Akame's eyes widened upon hearing that last sentence. "What?! She's still alive? But I thought you had been fighting her on the rooftop."

"It's a long story, but Esdeath will be coming downstairs any minute now. Her ice powers are already back and we can't allow her to flank our forces."

"Where's Su?", Akame asked, sensing that something was off.

A question that made the Night Raid commander frown with a thin veneer of grief on her lips. "He went out bravely. He's gone now."

Hearing this filled Leone, Akame and Mein's eyes with sudden sorrow. Nevertheless, they had lost companions before. As seasoned as assassins as they were, they each knew full well that the middle of a mission was never a time to grieve.

The look in Akame's eyes went from sorrow to dreary serene sense of cold. "Esdeath will pay for this", she said, her words every bit as cold as the Ice Queen's ice.

To which Najenda nodded her head in agreement. "Let's go!"

And so the two assassins followed their commander into the interior of the fortress. Leone quickly set Mein near the staircase leading to the basement, before venturing further with her boss. They each then made their way their way up the fortress' main set of stairs.

Eventually, the trio reached the 5th floor, a floor that was mostly comprised of one massive medieval like dining hall, with enough tables and seating suitable enough to accommodate well over a thousand people. Reaching the 6th and 7th floors meant crossing this hall and using the stairway on the other side. And just as the three Night Raid members reached the middle of the room, however, they saw Esdeath walking out from the stairway they were attempting to reach. The blue haired general practically glowing with confidence like always and had her long rapier held out to her side.

"Well well well", said the Ice Queen. "And here I thought I would have to come to you. Shall we pick up where we left off, Najenda?"

But for some reason, Najenda returned her nemesis' smirk with a smirk of her own. "We'll pick up where we left off, but there's something you should know before we do."

To which the Ice chuckled. "Oh? Is it that you intend to use your subordinates to assist you this time? Will you abandon them like you abandoned your imperial arm? Susannoo I believe? By all means, use them as you see fit."

"You should be less worried about my subordinates and more worried about . . . Tatsumi."

The very instant she heard that name, the smirk on Ice Queen's face was eviscerated and replaced with a scowl. "What would you know of Tatsumi?"

Najenda's smirk quickly widened into a grin. "I know all about your ties to him, Esdeath. I suspected you'd be up to something, which is why I took the liberty of taking him hostage. He's my ace in the hole"

"You're bluffing. I saw Tatsumi this morning with my own eyes. There's no way you could've captured him in such a short amount of time"

"You think so? Then use that nose of yours; use that superb sense of smell you're so proud of. Tell me whether the scent from my subordinates resonates with you."

Being the seasoned hunter that she was, it took but one whiff from her nostrils to identify the validity of her nemesis' claims. And as she did, her scowl grew into a look of pure rage, very much in contrast to her usual demeanor. She walked towards the Night Raid commander, practically suffocating everyone else in the room with her growing murderous intent.

But Najenda casually gestured her to stop. "Call off this operation. Take your forces and leave the island. Do that or you'll never see Tatsumi again."

Esdeath stopped in her tracks, the rage and hatred in her eyes still clear. Yet for some reason, she was uncharacteristically hesitant. She stood there, frozen, seemingly unable to decide what to do next.

Seeing that her threat was having some effect, Najenda continued to up the ante. "What's it going to be, Esdeath? Are you really going to let the only person you actually love die?"

The Ice Queen continued to grit her teeth in frustration, practically snarling at her situation. Suddenly, a past memory dredged up from the inner recesses of her mind. It was one occasion in which she had observed an ant colony preparing to devour a rival ant colonies' queen. " _That's what happens to the weak, right?"_ , she had said to her father. " _Yes Esdeath, this situation is exactly the same as when your mother was eaten by danger beasts. Make no mistake, this is how the world works. It may be sad, but your mother died because she was weak._ "

The Ice Queen's eye's widened as these words echoed throughout her head. Clenching her left fist as tightly as she could, in one swift and fluid fashion, she hurled it against her own forehead, the impact of which could be heard throughout the entire room. The sight of this alone made little sense to the three assassins present, all three of them visibly confused.

Esdeath then slowly removed her left fist away from her forehead, a small and slight trail of blood dripping down from the focal point where she threw her punch. Nevertheless, for one reason or another, the Ice Queen was all of the sudden calm and composed again. She still wasn't smirking, but it was pretty clear she had retained her composure. "Know this, Najenda. I, Esdeath, the strongest in the Grand Empire, yield to no one . . . ever. If Tatsumi is killed by the likes of you, it just means he was weak."

Hearing this wiped the smirk off of Najenda's face. Replacing it was a look of disgust. "Typical. And here I was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, there was at least some part of you that was willing to change. Earlier, I asked you why you came here. You've yet to answer my question."

"To do my job and eliminate the enemies of the Grand Empire. Why else?"

"Don't give me that. I know you pretty well. Even if you did suspect that my father was the leader of the Revolutionary Army, you would never have pursued such a lead, much less come up with such an elaborate means of wiping us out if it meant abandoning an opportunity to have a challenging battle. That is after all what you live for. Your job means nothing to you when compared to your endless thrill seeking."

"So what are you suggesting? That I had been intentionally staying my hand by allowing your father's organization to grow? That I had been disregarding opportunities to eradicate you all out of the belief that it'd be much more entertaining to fight you all at full strength?"

"Exactly. That is until you met Tatsumi. That is until you started to fall in love? Am I right? "

To which the Ice Queen simply shrugged her shoulders. "An interesting theory, but utterly beyond your concern. Where is Tatsumi?"

Leone immediately slipped into combat posture. " _There's that diabolical aura of hers again! It's flaring up even worse than last time. My animal instincts are telling me run like hell, but I can't. Not this time!"_

All of the sudden, Akame practically vanished in thin air, appearing behind the Ice Queen no more than a second later with Murasame unsheathed. She was in the midst of hitting the general with a one handed side slash, but Esdeath had already spun around and blocked the attack with her rapier.

"Too slow", Esdeath remarked, before kneeing the red eyed assassin in the stomach. Amidst this follow up attack, Leone was already behind the blue haired general, mid-air in fact; the feral assassin was about to tackle her.

But in yet another swift and fluid motion, Esdeath pushed Akame to the ground with her free hand, turned around before Leone could react and plunged her rapier right through the blonde haired assassin's heart. Blood immediately came pouring out of Leone's mouth, but Esdeath was unphased, having had to have seen similar sights hundreds of thousands of times in the past. She simply pulled her sword out from the girl's chest and let her fall to the ground.

" _Damn it",_ Leone thought. " _She's even stronger than I realized . . . if that's even possible_ _._ "

Akame swiftly regained her footing, no doubt ready to continue. She placed her imperial arm back into its sheath, holding the sheath with her left hand as she did and resting her right hand on the hilt. She then bent her knees and slipped into a battōjutsu stance.

Esdeath, on the other hand, casually turned around to face the red eyed girl once more. She slipped into one of the more technical stances of classic fencing. Her right foot was forward, her blade was held at an oblique angle with the guard over her left hip and the tip of her rapier angling upwards to her left, pointing over her opponent's shoulder.

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Impasse . . . ._ ]**

* * *

Tatsumi and Wave continued their battle, neither making any headway against the other. Every punch was blocked, every kick was obstructed and every attempt to grab was avoided. Both sensing the stalemate they were in by fighting at this pace, they both quickly hopped back and away from one another swiftly standing five feet apart.

Beneath his helmet, the Tatsumi gritted his teeth at the situation he was in " _If things keep going like this, we'll be here all night. Even worse, reinforcements are bound to show up at any moment and I'll never get to Esdeath in time._ "

Likewise, beneath his helmet, the lone Jaegar had a similar expression on his face. " _The 100 man slayer lives up to his reputation, but he's not the one I'm itching to fight. I'd better finish him quick."_

Wave bent his knees to the full extent he was able to, only to suddenly fire himself into the air so quickly that he may as well have been a human missile. Tatsumi watched his opponent soar into the sky, immediately realizing his next course of action. " _I've got no other option. Here goes._ "

Within no more than half a minute, Wave was thousands of feet into the air. "Grand Fall Komet!' Using gravity as well as Grand Chariot's flight capabilities, he immediately began to plunge towards the ground; he was moving so quickly that the sheer amount of friction he was creating set his armor on fire.

Wave was soaring towards the earth, prepared to deliver another dropkick on his adversary, this one exponentially more powerful than the last. But as he was about to reach the ground, his eyes widened at the sight of something, or rather someone unexpected. Rather than the 100 man slayer standing on the ground ready to oppose him, it was . . . Tatsumi.

" _How did he get here?!"_ , the lone Jaegar thought, coming to a sudden halt in mid-air. He dropped to the ground, reverting Grand Chariot back to its dormant sword form. "Tatsumi, what are you doing here and where's the 100-man slayer?"

"The 100-man slayer is dead. He's been dead for months now. He gave me his imperial arm and I've been using it ever since."

Wave looked at the other young man in shock and disbelief. The implication was obvious, but he couldn't believe it. "Then that means . . . you're an assassin . . . that you're part of Night Raid?!"

"I am, but right now, I'd like to call a temporary truce."

"A truce?! You can't be serious!", the lone Jaegar replied, wincing his eyes as he did. "You're an enemy of the empire. You're MY enemy. Why would I agree to a truce with you?"

"Because when it's all said and done, you're a good person and we both have the same goal. We both want to save the empire. It's just our methods that are different."

"Too different in fact. Why would you reveal yourself to me despite knowing this?"

"I heard about what happened in Reispan. How you and my teammates came to temporary truce and I wanted to do the same"

"That was because hundreds of innocent lives were at stake!"

"And now the lives of the thousands of men on this battlefield are at stake all due to a senseless battle!"

"That's different! You guys are all part of a revolt that will surely lead to the deaths of thousands of civilians in the crossfire if it is not stopped!"

"Which is why I'm calling this truce!"

"Tell me Tatsumi: Do the people in your village know you're part of the Revolutionary Army? That you're an assassin? Are they all in on it?"

"No, I haven't told them anything."

"Good. Then you're the only one I have to deal with."

"Do what you want, but at least hear me out first!"

To which Wave sighed. "Alright, I'm listening."

"I need to talk to Esdeath. If anyone can end all of this chaos, it's her."

"You really think the commander will listen to you after she finds out who you really are?"

Tatsumi shrugged his shoulders. "As far as you're concerned, it shouldn't matter. If she doesn't, she'll deal with me herself, making your job even easier, right?"

"Listen Tatsumi, if you surrender here, I'll do every I can to see to it that you're treated fairly. I can't make that kind of guarantee if you go and see the commander yourself."

"I'll take my chances."

"Fine, then go. If you only intend to go see the commander, then I won't get in your way Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I won't.", the Incursio wielder remarked, a faint smile appearing on his face. With that, he then swiftly departed towards the fortress. As he ran in that direction, however, his mind couldn't help but linger on the cryptic comments his village elder had made about this particular Jaegar. " _There's no way that could be right."_

Wave, on the other hand, stood still while watching the Night Raid assassin veer off into the distance. " _I suppose I'll be heading that way myself_ ", he thought before turning his head in the direction of the crumbled eastern tower. " _But first . . "._

* * *

 **[ _. . . . The Ice Queen's nature . . . ._ ]**

* * *

It had been no more than 10 minutes since the battle in the dining hall started and Akame was already on one knee, using her sword as a crutch to keep herself from collapsing; the red eyed assassin was panting heavily, sweat beading down her face.

Esdeath, on the other hand, was perfectly composed, clearly not having broken a single sweat. "I can tell just by watching you fight: You're not used to having to exert this level of speed for this long, are you? You're used to having the speed advantage and have never had to deal with someone whose raw speed and reflexes were at very least on par with your own.

Akame didn't bother to answer the question. She had probably tuned it out, more focused on continuing the battle. Using her sword for support, she slowly got back onto her feet and used both hands to place her sword out in front of her; she readily assumed a basic kendo stance, one which even a rudimentary practitioner would recognize as 'seigan no kame.'

The Ice Queen, however, didn't even bother to assume a combat stance. Rather, casually holding her long rapier in her right hand, she continued to talk. "Whoever trained you never took into account the possibility that you'd face an opponent you couldn't overwhelm with your natural speed, reflexes or prodigious talent for swordplay."

Unwilling to give up, Akame moved at vanishing-like speeds once again, seemingly disappearing in thin air as far as Najenda and Leone could tell. Esdeath displayed similar movement speed in response, vanishing as well. As the two reappeared to the naked eye, the Ice Queen appeared behind the Akame and effortlessly bashed the back of her neck with the butt-end of her rapier's hilt, sending her tumbling down into one of the tables nearby.

Without delay, Leone used her immense strength to pick up one of the wooden long tables stretching throughout large parts of the room. With a heave and ho,she threw the sizable object at the Ice Queen as if it were a brick. Though with but a single touch from the fingertips of her left hand, Esdeath froze every inch of said table, effectively stopping it with but a gesture. As she did, she felt a tingling sensation in her ears; it was her acute sense of hearing at work. It was a sound she instantly recognized; the clicking of a handgun's hammer.

At that very instant, Najenda pulled the trigger on the handgun she had in her hand. No doubt a weapon she picked up downstairs to make up for the loss of her prosthetic hand and her imperial arm. She pulled the trigger 3 times consecutively, but the Ice Queen evaded each shot, her movements similar to a single blade of grass blowing in the wind. Before the Night Raid commander could fire another shot, Esdeath had already closed the distance between the two, slicing the handgun in half with her long rapier the instant she had gotten close enough.

This appeared to be another one of Najenda's tactics, however, as both Leone and Akame were already maneuvering towards the general on her left and right sides respectively. Both assassins had come to the realization that this was an opponent who could not be faced without rushing and attacking her simultaneously. Though the Ice Queen was not unprepared for such a tactic. With her left hand aimed at Leone, she promptly snapped her fingers.

"Schwere Stange!" A 30 foot rod of ice, 6 inches in diameter instantly appeared out of thin air. The very moment it was summoned, it launched itself clean through Leone's stomach, skewering her in a gruesome fashion while wedging itself into the wall onto the other side of the room.

Akame had used another battōjutsu strike, attacking with a strong and fast slash to the right as she unsheathed her imperial arm at an impeccable speed. A move to which the Ice Queen addressed by taking one step back, clearing herself from the full range of the red eyed assassin's blade. In that short instant, the general readied a riposte, intent upon thrusting her long rapier the very instant Akame had fully swung her sword.

But Akame stopped short of a full swing, instead only having swung her blade halfway. To Esdeath's surprise, Akame converted her swing into a thrust, sending the tip of Murasame's blade on a collision course with the general's throat. And t both Leone and Najenda's amazement, the blade hit its target, putting a display of relief on their faces.

That display, however, was short lived. Akame looked upon her adversary before her, expecting to see Murasame's ethereal markings coursing throughout her body. Instead, however, what she saw was an ice neck bracelet protecting her throat. Esdeath then immediately tapped her left index finger onto the broad side of the red eyed assassin's blade, encasing it completely in ice.

"Not bad. I had thought you'd be too exhausted and demoralized to pull off a move like that" said the general after following up by stabbing Akame through the flesh beneath her collar bone. She then used her free hand to punch the red eyed assassin clean in her right temple, immediately sending her tumbling to the floor. "Stay down this time, but not permanently. I might need to interrogate you for a little bit before you die."

Leone watched the scene in agonizing pain. A cylinder object was resting in her stomach and she was already standing in a puddle of her own blood. Not to mention the blood that was seeping out of her mouth. Even with her imperial's arms regenerative properties, she was barely alive. There was no telling how much longer she could live with this literal hole in her stomach.

Sensing no other option, Najenda grabbed a butcher knife off of a nearby table and ran towards the Ice Queen, launching a fierce jump kick as she did. Esdeath casually side-stepped out of the way. The Night Raid commander spun around as she did this, swinging her blade towards her opponent's face, mentally admonishing herself for her recklessness, but also realizing she had exhausted everything else in her toolbox of ideas. " _I had hoped we'd at least be able to stall her, but she's managed to get even stronger than she was back when I was a general._ "

A move to which the Ice Queen effortlessly responded, parrying the kitchen instrument with her rapier in such a way as to knock it out of her adversary's hand. She then seized Najenda's throat with her left hand, squeezing it ever so tightly "Losing an arm and an eye has really taken its toll on you. You used to be much more formidable than this", the general said before lifting her up off of her feet and viciously slamming her back through a nearby table.

It took a moment for her nervous system to catch up, but as it did, Najenda could feel a substantial surge of pain flowing throughout her backside. She was actually fortunate how durable her past military training had made her as an ordinary human would've surely died just then. Yet in a situation such as this, perhaps 'fortunate' wasn't the best choice of words.

Esdeath placed her right foot in the center of the silver haired assassins' chest, slightly crushing into it with the heel on her boot. She then held the tip of her long rapier up against the other woman's neck, glaring down at her with murderous intent in her eyes as she did. "I asked you a question. Answer it: Where is Tatsumi? Talk while you still can."

"Talk? You want me to talk", Najenda responded, laughing for a moment and suddenly smirking despite the situation she was in. "Fine. I'll talk. Funny thing about danger beasts and humans. They cannot coexist. Even with air mantas, the most one can do is tame them into submission."

"I've hunted danger beasts my entire life. You aren't telling me anything I don't already know."

"No, this is something you seem to be oblivious to. See, you and Tatsumi aren't any different as far as that comparison goes. You're a vile monster, Esdeath. You always have been and you likely always will be. He may be naïve, but Tatsumi will never accept a vile monster. Sooner or later, he'll try to put you down himself if it comes down to it."

The Ice Queen narrowed her eyebrows, dragging the tip of her rapier across the surface flesh on Najenda's throat as she did so. "I'm not interested in your prattle. Answer my question."

"I've listened to the rumors spreading around the Capital. You wanted to try your hand at falling in love, am I right? So much so that you asked the emperor for assistance. You even gave him a specific list of qualifications. What interest does the almighty Esdeath have in such trifling affairs I wonder?"

"You're wearing my patience", Esdeath replied, the irritation in her voice rather notable.

"You constantly proclaim your disdain for weakness and yet you're desperately seeking something that you claim has the tendency to make people think and behave irrationally, right? How sad it is that you remain a vile monster when your true nature couldn't be any less obvious."

The Ice Queen practically hissed all of the sudden, immediately pressing her right foot down furiously against her adversary's chest. The heel protruded right through Najenda's skin. Advancing it any further would at very least rupture her heart. "I had intended to give you a quick death, but that's obviously no longer an option for you. Too bad. Needless to say, I'm going to enjoy finishing you NICE and SLOW! And I wouldn't worry too much about your subordinates. They'll all be joining you after I show them a similar degree hospitality."

But then suddenly, at that exact moment, the unpredictable occurred. One part of the wall on the other end of the room exploded, leaving a hole 10 feet wide and 10 feet tall. Esdeath, Najenda, Leone and even Akame immediately looked in that direction to see what was going on. Of course, the three assassins were merely able to look to the best of their ability, given the conditions they were in.

As the smoked clear from the aforementioned explosion, it was none other than Lubbock who could be seen standing on air manta hovering outside. Also on the air manta were Mein and the Lord. Mein was sitting down, clearly in no condition to fight. The Lord, on the other hand, was still chained up for obvious reasons.

"Sorry I'm late", said the green haired assassin. "You shouldn't be surprised though. The hero always shows up at the last second."

Yet seeing him show up didn't exactly set well with Najenda. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to get out of here!"

Lubbock jumped off the hovering danger beast and into the dining hall. "Yeah . . . I'm not doing that."

Hearing such insubordination caused Najenda to let out a frustrated growl "You said you would-"

"Nope, I never said I would leave you or the rest of my teammates behind!", he interrupted. "You can yell at me later, but I'm taking you out of here whether you like it or not! And based on the look of things, it doesn't look like you're in much of a position to resist!"

Esdeath promptly removed her foot from Najenda's chest, instead turning her full attention to the latest interloper to get in her way. "And it doesn't look like you're in much of a position to flee."

"Oh yeah?", Lubbock smirked, using his hand to gesture the Ice Queen to come closer. "Then bring it! Strongest in the empire my ass! Like some chick wearing high heels is gonna beat me! Show me what you got!"

"With pleasure", she responded, moving at the speed she had been moving while dueling Akame earlier. In almost no time, she closed the distance, appearing right in front of Lubbock and swinging her rapier in such a way that she was about to slash the green haired assassin's throat. This was despite him having already hopped backwards in an effort to get out of the way.

And yet for some reason, Lubbock was smirking deviously. An observation the Ice Queen had made in a fraction of a second, mid-swing of her sword. In that split instant, he eyes wandered to the immediate floor and ceiling, only to notice multiple grenades all being held in place by the wires from this interloper's imperial arm. Even worse, the pins on them had been pulled.

" _Mahapadma",_ the general thought, crossing her hands together somewhat perpendicular and somewhat parallel. And just like that, everything around her literally came to an absolute halt. All time and space was frozen. A testament to this truth was the fact that the Ice Queen could see the grenades around her frozen amidst the process of igniting.

Without delay, she picked up the grenades and threw them out the hole in the wall Lubbock had created. " _I probably could've just used my Grade Two ice again like I did with Najenda, but it feels oddly draining. I'd much rather stay at full strength albeit with the loss of my ice powers for a certain amount of time."_

She then looked towards Lubbock, clenching the hilt of her long rapier rather tightly. " _Fascinating. This one may not look like it, but he's every bit as dangerous as Najenda and certainly more reckless. He might've died as well had I not stopped time. Even worse, he's not lacking a right arm and a right eye. Better deal with him immediately just in case he has any other tricks up his sleeve._ "

With no delay, Esdeath promptly thrusted her sword towards the green haired assassin's chest, well on the verge of skewering his heart. But before her blade could pierce his flesh, she suddenly felt the knuckles of an armored right hand blindsiding her and hurling itself into her left cheek. A move which sent the general tumbling into another direction.

Reactively regaining her footing, the Ice Queen widened her eyes in disbelief, flabbergasted that something, or rather someone, had just hit her despite time and space being frozen. She looked up to gaze her eyes upon the culprit who had initiated this impossible surprise attack. It was none other than the wielder of Incursio. " _The 100 man slayer? But how?"_

Suddenly, time and space unfroze once more, proceeding to move on like normal. Lubbock looked around, surprised to see that Esdeath was not in the same place she was just standing and equally surprised that the only explosions he was hearing were one's dozens of yards out into the nearby sky. Even more surprising, however, was who was suddenly in the room. " _Am I seeing things? What the hell is going on?_ "

Najenda was equally surprised at this turn of events, but actually managed to logically deduce what had just transpired. " _I see. She must've used her trump card to stop time, but Tatsumi is all of the sudden here in spite of that. That could only mean . . ."_

"Sorry about that", Tatsumi said, his attention focused on Esdeath. "But you were about to kill my friend, thus left me no other option but to-"

Though the Ice Queen was in no mood for a conversation. She lunged towards the Incursio wielder at a vanishing speed. Her speed was so great in fact, that Tatsumi could barely react to it, blocking a slash from her rapier by suddenly manifesting his spear in his hands. " _I don_ ' _t know how he moved during stopped time, but it doesn't matter!"_

With Esdeath preoccupied with fighting who she believed to be the '100 man slayer', Lubbock seized this opportunity by running towards his other three companions in the room. _"Just kee_ p _her_ _busy Tatsumi._ "

"Esdeath, just stop for a second and I can-". He stopped, mid-sentence, gazing into her eyes. These weren't the eyes of that caring woman he had spent the previous night with nor the eyes of the woman he had spent time with that morning. There weren't even the eyes of the woman that had tortured that air manta back on the uninhabited southern island. These eyes were beyond anything he had ever encountered. They were the personification of death itself.

It was upon gazing into these eyes that Tatsumi also became cognizant of the Ice Queen's killing aura. This was the first time he had ever perceived it. All he had to go on in the past was Leone's description, but actually seeing it firsthand was a different experience entirely. Suddenly, all thoughts of talking things out escaped the young man for he had suddenly lost his nerve.

" _The demon dragon armor: Incursio. It's said to be nearly indestructible."_ she thought, glaring at her current opponent calculatingly before gazing down towards the blade on her rapier, the blade still being coated with her Grade Two ice " _Lets see if it truly lives up to its reputation._ "

And just like that, the Esdeath suddenly started coming at Tatsumi like a hurricane, unleashing a series of thrusts from her rapier that may as well have had the intensity of an F5 tornado. Najenda watched the uncanny sight, amazed that her nemesis was suddenly fighting in a fashion far more serious than she had against Akame several minutes ago.

Tatsumi himself was purely on defense against this vicious assault. He had defended against the general's initial attack both to protect himself and because he had no desire to fight. But now his lack of desire to fight was irrelevant. Even if he wanted to fight back, it wasn't an option. _"She's . . . too fast_."

Esdeath was fighting with such intensity that Tatsumi wasn't even parrying all of her attacks. Many were hitting his armor. Even more troubling, however, was that her attacks were starting to leave cracks. Upon noticing this, the Incursio swiftly leaped away with a swift backflip, landing on a nearby table afterwards.

Lubbock was utterly mystified, his mouth hanging wide open. He couldn't believe anyone could fight like that, but quickly refocused his attention on the task at hand. "Just hang on Leone. I'll get you out of here", he said wrapping a wire around the cylinder ice rod that was protruding through the feral assassin's stomach. He wrapped his wire around two areas: The area immediately in front of his companion's stomach and the area immediately behind her.

Despite the agonizing situation she was in, Leone could not help but crack a smile. "Hurry up, would yah? I would say I was gonna hurl, but there's really nothing for me to hurl at this point . . . besides ice . . . owe."

With a quick tug of cross tail's wires, the Lubbock managed to cleave both ends of the ice his companion had been trapped in. Even so, there still remained the ice plainly sitting in Leone's stomach. Lubbock was about to push it out with his bare hands, only for Leone to quickly gesture him to stop. "I have no clue how much of my insides are going to come pouring out should you remove that. Just leave it in for now."

"You sure about that?", he asked.

To which the feral assassin responded while trudging her way towards the air manta hovering outside, "Owe. No. But I kind of like doing this thing called 'staying alive', so I won't take any chances."

Lubbock then turned his attention towards Najenda, noticing that she was already back on her feet, albeit with some pain in both her back and her chest. "Sorry about this, but . . ." He twirled a large bundle of his wires around in the air like a lasso and threw them towards his commander.

"Hey! What is the meaning of this?", Najenda said, struggling to get out of the wires that had suddenly been wrapped around her arms and her waist. "Release me!"

Lubbock, of course, merely shook his head. "Sorry, but no can do! We both know you'll never retreat under these circumstances, so I'm instead taking you captive. That way, you don't really have any choice in the matter!"

"Right now, thousands of men are counting on me to lead them. I can't just abandon them!"

"And you're not! I'm taking you against your will. Their deaths will never be on your conscience. They'll be on mine and mine alone! I'll take the blame for what happens here! But this is battle that cannot be won. You know that! If there is to be any hope for any future rebellion, we cannot afford to lose you! I cannot afford to lose you!"

"Lubbock", she muttered. "Don't do this!"

Without giving the matter a second thought, he threw Najenda over his shoulder, only to run towards the hovering air manta waiting outside "I'm doing it and that's that! Once we're out of harm's way, you can execute me yourself for my insubordination!"

Lubbock gently set the Night Raid commander onto the flying danger beast, only to then turn his attention to Akame. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that she was desperately crawling on the floor with the hilt of her imperial arm tugged in her mouth. She was crawling towards Tatsumi. He ran up to his companion, grabbed the sword out of her mouth and helped her up to her feet as he did. "What are you doing?", he asked.

"Tatsumi . . . doesn't stand a chance", she replied. "I've got to help him."

He placed one of the girl's arms around his shoulder, and began helping her walk. "You're in no condition to fight. Come on, I'll get you out of here."

"But Tatsumi", she said, deeply concerned.

"Don't worry. As soon as I've helped you, I'll help him as well."

Esdeath continued to engage Tatsumi, still believing that he was not the young man she loved, but rather . . . "100-man slayer, it occurs to me you had engaged one of my subordinates on Mt. Fake some time ago", she said, amidst continuing to relentlessly hurl thrusts.

Tatsumi continued to evade . . . to the extent he was able. The cracks on his armor were getting larger. " _Just what is that sword of hers made of?_ "

"You were the one who engaged my subordinate when I had assigned him to watch Tatsumi. Yes, it all makes sense now. You're the reason he disappeared that day and you must be the reason he was taken hostage today!"

"What?!", Tatsumi exclaimed, having no idea what the Ice Queen was talking about. "No, look: You've got the wrong idea. The truth is that-" But there it was again. He stopped mid-sentence once more, finding himself unable to communicate the truth while looking into such malevolent eyes. Tatsumi found himself wondering what would happen if he revealed the truth here and now. Thoughts of his villagers came to mind. What would happen to them? He thought he had understood the Ice Queen, but the person engaging him was a completely different person than the person he had come to know and even care about.

"Cat got your tongue, 100-man slayer?" She suddenly stopped hurling thrusts, instead resorting to a downward one-handed slash. Tatsumi instinctively raised the shaft of his spear to block, but was shocked to see his opponent cleave the weapon in two with that one strike alone. "Now that I've gotten a whiff of you, I know I'm right. You're practically drenched in his scent! You're the source of it all. I can practically feel it!"

Now grinning with wicked glee, the general followed up with a powerful and vicious upwards slash to the right side of the Incursio wielder's helmet, leaving a large and noticeable crack in it. "Your very existence is intolerable. You are unaffected by my power over time and space. Worse yet, you dare get in the way between Tatsumi and I. That, I will never forgive!"

Tatsumi could feel blood flowing from the right side of his forehead, down to his right cheek. That last attack must've been immensely severe for him to take such a wound despite the protection his armor offered him. " _I want to say something . . . but I just can't!_ "

Esdeath hurled another thrust at him, this time towards the crack she had just created on his helmet. The young man bobbed his head to the left to avoid it, avoiding what may have been a fatal injury. Nevertheless, the blade still glanced across the right cheek segment of his helmet, creating another sizable crack in the process. She instantly followed up with a lightning fast left legged roundhouse kick, precisely to the area she had just cracked.

Tatsumi's brain was rattling all of the sudden. He started wobbling on his feet, quickly recalling his duel with Budo and how the great general had nearly caved his head in with his orichalchum enforced maces.

"Now you die!" Esdeath's grin widened and she followed up with another thrust aimed towards the right side of her adversary's helmet. Mid-motion, she noticed that a large portion of the Incursio wielder's helmet had been shattered with that last attack. In plain sight was the right side of her opponent's face. The face of . . . "Tatsumi!"

She came to a sudden stop, the tip of her blade a meager inch away from Tatsumi's right eye. Getting a full gaze at him, the murderous aura flowing throughout her vanished as did the wicked grin on her face. She loosened her clench on the hilt of her rapier, so much so that the weapon slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor. Her legs also appeared to give out on her as she then fell to her knees. Just looking at her facial expression alone, it was obvious that the general had slipped into a stupor of sorts. "I . . . don't . . . understand."

Tatsumi simply stood there, gazing upon the general. Yet for some reason, despite the sudden change in her disposition, he still found himself unable to utter even a word. He just looked at her for several moments, flabbergasted at her demeanor as he had never seen her like this. More than likely, no one had. He continued to maintain his gaze before seeing a lasso of wires wrapped around his arms and chest.

"C'mon, we gotta go!", Lubbock said, pulling the wires while standing on the hovering air manta outside.

But the Incursio wielder did not listen. He remained standing in place, still gazing upon the Ice Queen who was still ever so dazed.

Lubbock pulled with all his strength, but it was no use. Tatsumi was a great deal stronger and heavier while wearing his armor. "We don't have time for this!", Lubbock sighed.

Leone stood up and grabbed the end of the wires Lubbock was pulling. "Let me take a crack at it" Using her super human strength, she tugged the wires as if she was pulling the rope on a town bell, effectively yanking the Incursio wielder from where he had been standing and all the way back to the air manta in one go.

Noting that everyone was aboard, the green haired assassin began maneuvering the flying danger beast away from the fortress and instead higher into the sky. "Alright! Lets get out of here before she goes on another rampage!"

Esdeath did not give chase. Perhaps she didn't even realize that she had just inadvertently let every remaining member of Night Raid escape, but none of that appeared to concern her. All she could think about in this unusual dazed state of mind was . . . " _Tatsumi_."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Impending dearth . . . ._ ]**

* * *

The plethora of remaining Revolutionary Army soldiers continued to maintain their positions at the fortress' main gates, protecting it to the best of their ability. Legions of soldiers from the imperial army had already made their up the beach incline and were currently outside the gates, attempting to breach the wall. Amongst the imperial army forces was none other than Run, who appeared to be leading the charge.

The blonde haired Jaegar smirked with satisfaction at the current state of the battle. " _It doesn't matter how well they defend these gates. The commander can flank them at any moment. And with her abilities, it'll be child's play. This skirmish is basically over regardless of what cards Night Raid has up its sleeve._ "

All of the sudden, Kurome dropped out the sky, landing right next to her fellow Jaegar. She looked around the immediate area for a moment, only to then sigh in disappointment. "You chased Night Raid back here, right? Where's Akame?"

To which Run replied, "She's probably inside. If you want, you could use that dragon of yours to raze this place much like you razed the beach."

Kurome innocently shook her head in disapproval. "Nah. Wouldn't want to risk hitting Akame as well. I'll go in the old fashioned way."

"Look, I know you're strong, but that's a LOT of men guarding the gates here. Even you'll get killed trying to go in there on your own."

"But if I don't go, the commander might get to her before I do. Once I see an opening, I'll sneak in."

"Suit yourself", Run shrugged.

* * *

 **[ _. . . ._** **_Sorpresa del Diablo. . . ._ ]**

* * *

Though many of the imperial soldiers had left their warships to attack the Revolutionary Army fortress on foot, all of these ships still remained manned and ready for combat. Within the Jaegar's flagship, Warrant officer Stewart noticed something most peculiar while examining the ship's radar. "Another unidentified air manta! This one seems to be flying AWAY from the island."

A lower ranking officer approached the warrant officer as he made this observation. "What should we do?"

"Commodore Run has left explicit orders to shoot any air mantas flying to or from this area. Alert all other ships to shoot it down!"

Up in the skies, Lubbock, effectively steering this danger beast, was in the process of flying his companions to safety. That was until he noticed cannon fire from the warships below. "Holy crap!" He had the air manta jerk itself away from being blasted, causing everyone on the beast to hold on tight.

Tatsumi gritted his teeth. "This is bad! When I flew here, I wasn't even able to get onto the island without my air manta being blown out of the sky."

Lubbock jerked the beast in another direction, once again narrowly avoiding death. "Gee, that would've been useful information 2 minutes ago! Now what are we gonna do?"

"Can't this thing go any higher or faster?!", Leone yelled.

Akame shook her head. "Air mantas are useful for transportation purposes only. Their many limitations make them impractical for combat, much less high-speed getaways. We're pretty much a flying target in the sky just waiting to be hit."

"Damnit all!", yelled the green haired the assassin. "We were so close!"

Najenda sighed. " _I wonder if this is karma_."

For a few moments, there was silence amongst the assassins, none of them sure how to accept what seemed to be their fate. That was, until one of them did the unexpected.

"Mein", Lubbock remarked, noting that she was now standing on her feet while using Pumpkin as a crutch to support her weight.

Despite her disposition though, she had a smug look on her face. "Well well well. You guys have gotten yourselves into a real pinch this time. Lucky for you, you've not only got a genius sniper watching your backs, but THE genius sniper to save your collective asses!" Much to Tatsumi and Lubbock's annoyance, she started laughing.

"Mein?", Leone asked. "What are you up to?"

"My crowning moment of awesome of course!", she said with a boastful wink.

To which Tatsumi responded, narrowing his eyebrows in frustration "This is no time to try and act cool!"

Mein reacted with a soft chuckle. The smug look on her face quickly evaporated into a cheerful one and she took two steps back, her feet mere inches away from the edge of the flying danger beast's body. "Hey Tatsumi. I know we've had our differences in the past but . . . you're alright."

Tatsumi looked confused; he couldn't recall the last time this girl had given him a compliment. However, before he could ask her about her sudden change in demeanor, the genius sniper allowed herself to fall backwards, down towards the sea below.

"Mein!", the other 5 assassins exclaimed simultaneously!

Tatsumi directed his attention to his green haired companion. "Hey, don't just sit there! Use your wires to catch her!"

"I can't! At that velocity, breaking her fall with cross tail would definitely cause her bones to snap or even cut her in half completely!

And so the genius sniper went, plummeting upside down, head first towards the sea below faster and faster with increasing velocity. And as she fell, she had her imperial arm aimed towards the battalion of warships getting in the way of her group's escape. Pumpkin yet again assumed the mysterious form it had assumed when she had briefly engaged Esdeath earlier in the evening; the barrel suddenly manifested itself into a form similar to that of a double barreled shotgun and ominous purple light outlined various parts of the weapon. However, unlike last time, the ominous purple light extended to forming ominous purple light markings all throughout the sniper's body

And as she continued to fall, she recalled an event that had taken place roughly two years ago. Both her and Najenda were on a beach by themselves. Mein had been using Pumpkin's sniper form to effortlessly shoots birds thousands of meters away out of the sky.

" _Very_ _good!"_ , Najenda had said, patting the younger assassin on the back. " _You're getting better at this every day._ "

Mein had blushed, having been very unaccustomed to compliments up to that point in her life. " _It's nothing really._ "

" _Don't sell yourself short. You may not know it yet, but you're a genius when it comes to marksmanship!_ "

" _You really think so?"_

" _I know so! But simple sniping alone isn't always enough. Sometimes, you need an ace in the hole!"_

" _An ace in the hole?"_ Mein had asked, curious to know what her commander was talking about.

" _That's why today, I'm going to teach you how to use Pumpkin's trump card. But I need you to promise me that you'll only use it when I tell you to._ "

" _Well sure, but didn't you say you wouldn't be going on any more missions with me? How am I going to use this trump card if you're not around?"_

" _Because I don't want you using it unless I know with certainty that there's no other option but to use it. The technique I'm about to teach you can not only claim the lives of hundreds of civilians by mistake, but even yourself if used recklessly! That's why it's imperative that you ONLY use it when I tell you to use it. Do you promise?"_

Mein had nodded her head eagerly. " _It's a promise!"_

" _Good! To start, this ability is top secret. Even my former colleagues know nothing about it. Thus, I'm going to label it with a codename. We'll call it 'Contingency Plan: M57.' Of course, you may call it whatever you like, but any time I say those words, you are to use your trump and you are to ONLY use it in the fashion I'm about to show you, got it?"_

" _You got it, boss!"_

" _As you know by now, Pumpkin's power and range is entirely dependent on the proportion to the level of danger the user is in. We call this danger 'a pinch.' But even the biggest pinches we encounter in this line of work are never anywhere close to the amount of range and power Pumpkin is truly capable of wielding. But artificially induced pinches are a different story!_

" _Artificially induced pinches?"_

" _Pinches that operate by inducing just about any level of stress on the body. Were you to artificially induce the right kind of pinch, pulling out Pumpkin's full power would be a cinch. The only problem is that that kind of power is bound to cause collateral damage and may even kill you depending on how much stress you induce._ "

Back in the present, Mein kept her eyes trained on the legions of warships before her. Another few seconds passed and she was but a mere 100 yards from hitting the waves below her. " _I'm sorry, boss. Who would've thought that I am just as big a liar as Lubbock . . . at least when it comes to this sort of thing_. _It's strange. I wanted to see a day where this country would be free of discrimination as well a day where Reispan was saved from its oppressors._ "

Another second passed and she was 60 yards from crashing into the sea. Akame, Lubbock, Tatsumi, Leone and Najenda's faces flashed throughout her mind " _Yet even though I'm not going to ever see that, I feel so . . . so happy_."

As she was but a mere 20 yards from hitting the water at maximum velocity, she pulled the trigger on her imperial arm in complete bliss. At the very instant, an astronomical blast of violent purple energy, 400 yards wide and 400 yards tall emitted out Pumpkins barrels. The beam of energy instantly vaporized every single warship in its path, taking out one third of the ships present. But that wasn't even the full scope of the destruction that was being wrought. The sheer force of the blast created tsunami level waves splitting in multiple directions, the likes of which wiped out every remaining warship in proximity to the island.

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Troublesome loose end . . . ._ ]**

* * *

Just about everyone remaining on the island noticed the massive beam of energy blaring off into the distance as well as the ensuing tsunami level waves that followed. Waves which surely would've swept everything on the island as well if not for its inordinately high ground. Thus, as a result of much of the island being well above sea level, the tsunamis only did superficial damage and had very little impact on the ongoing battle between soldiers of the Revolutionary Army and soldiers of the Grand Empire.

Near the crumbled remains of the eastern tower, there was a peculiar sound echoing throughout the immediate area. It was the sound of maniacal laughter. Maniacal laughter that belonged to none other than Seryu Ubiquitious. Or rather, what remained of her. Indeed, despite her climactic battle with Night Raid's genius sniper, she was still alive, though not in a favorable condition. All but her head had been destroyed during Mein's last attack, but she somehow retained her life. Whether this was the result of Dr. Stylish's genius or her sheer will to live, one couldn't say.

"I am living proof!" _,_ laughed the crazed Jaegar. "Evil can never win!"

She was laughing so loudly and so obnoxiously that an unknown figure could hear her nearby.

Hearing the sound of footsteps getting louder and louder, Seryu shouted aloud, "Who's there? Show yourself! If you're an evil doer, don't think you have the edge against me. Even in this state, I am still formidable." She quickly opened her mouth, revealing the hidden gun that had been stored in her throat.

As the figure was within several feet of the crazed Jaegar, however, his identity was readily clear. "Wave!", she yelled out, overjoyed at his presence. "You found me! Even though justice is blind, it's always looking out for its servants!

Wave looked down upon his comrade, or rather what remained of her. But the expression on his face was not one of joy or relief, but of simple indifference. "There you are."

Seryu didn't detect anything strange however; she remained overjoyed that someone had come to save her. "I may not look like much right now, but once we get back to the Capital, I'm sure the commander will find a scientist that can build me a new body. I'll be as good as new in no time!"

"Who said anything about going back to the Capital?", Wave asked, suddenly using his imperial arm to revert back to his armored Grand Chariot state.

Seryu looked at her comrade with confusion in her eyes. "Aren't we going back to the Capital after-"

But Wave didn't allow her to utter another word. Rather, he proceeded to stomp his right foot onto the crazed Jaegar's head, crushing it in one move. After doing so, all that remained was blood, tissue and electronic parts.

And so it went, the loss of another Jaegar . . . only this one was killed by a fellow Jaegar. And upon committing this deed, he stood there in silence, gazing up at the sky and no doubt remarking upon the end of Seryu Ubiquitious and the wretched chapter that was her life. Though unbeknownst to Wave, perhaps this decision of his marked the beginning of a far grander story to be told.

* * *

 _ **A/N** : _Wow! Can't believe I got this out in under a month. I know one of you voiced displeasure with Mein. To be honest, I'm actually in agreement as far as the manga/anime iterations of the character are concerned. Like Tatsumi, she is in incomplete character in both mediums who is reduced to nothing more than random pairing fodder for Tatsumi. I attempted to give the character a little more justice before sending her off, hence the focus she has gotten in the last two chapters.

Anyways, lots of ground covered and 5 more chapters to go before this particular fic is over! Love it? Hate it? Meh? **DoomMarine54** [yes, there you go, some free attention! ;) ]?Lemme know what you think! And as always, thanks for reading!


	13. Kill the Aftermath

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 **A/N:** We've once again made our way to another new chapter! And wow, I got this out a lot faster than I thought. Lets see if I can get the next one out before the month ends!

#1. As always, thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews!

#2. Sorry I haven't been able to respond to them. Will do so the minute I post this chapter.

And awwwwwwaaaaay we go!

* * *

 _ **Updated on 1/21/17 - Fixed prose and grammatical errors**_

* * *

 ** _Episode 26: Kill the Aftermath_**

Two days had come and gone since the momentous battle at the Revolutionary Army's secret headquarters. Most of the citizens throughout the Grand Empire were not privy to the fact that this battle had occurred, much less that there had been a victor. On the other hand, it was a different story for those present in the imperial throne room early in the evening.

The three remaining Jaegars suddenly entered these chambers after their arrival was announced by one of the officers of the imperial court. The Prime Minister steadily observed the trio approaching, his attention equally invested in the roasted turkey leg he was gnawing his teeth on. The Emperor, on the other hand, looked exuberantly cheerful, the utmost intrigued in whatever the three had to report. Also present was Syura, who stood plainly on the side of the Emperor's throne opposite to his father's. He stood with his arms crossed, appearing more or less indifferent about the Jaegars' presence.

Upon traversing to an appropriate distance near the throne, all three Jaegars genuflected to the floor and bowed their heads, Run being positioned between Wave and Kurome. It was then that the blonde haired Jaegar said, "We have returned with joyous news, your majesty. The Revolutionary Army has been utterly annihilated."

"That is good news!", the young Emperor eagerly replied. "You may all rise and give me your full report on the battle!"

To which the three responded by rising to their feet. But just as they did this, the Prime Minister interjected, having noticed something peculiar. "Where is General Esdeath? If anyone should be giving the report, it should be her."

Wave spoke up in response "The commander is-"

But Run interrupted his comrade, nudging him with his elbow as he did. "The commander seems to be somewhat ill and exhausted. She returned to her chambers and delegated the task of giving the mission report to me."

"Hmm, I suppose 'utterly annihilating' the entire Revolutionary Army would prove exhausting even to someone of her caliber", noted the gluttonous old man, rubbing his beard in a ruminating fashion. "Carry on with the report."

Run reverently nodded his head before directing his attention back towards the Emperor. "Most of the mission went on without a hitch. We overpowered the Revolutionary Army with our superior numbers and available resources. When they predictably holed themselves up in their fortress, the commander flanked them from behind, assuring us our victory. I've also received word that the armies in Bestimmung, Reispan and Ali Jinnah are in the process of eliminating their remaining forces at the rendezvous points in each respective nation."

The Emperor's eyes appeared to be beaming with joy as he heard Run explain this. "That is excellent! You have done our country a great service by finally defeating the rebels. You deserve-"

"Not so fast, your majesty", Honest interrupted. "If I heard correctly, this Jaegar claims that 'most' of the mission went without a hitch. Perhaps he should tell us more about the alleged 'hitch' before you go out giving rewards."

Compliant with the concerns of his most trusted advisor, the Emperor simply nodded his head before turning his attention back to Run. "Well okay. I guess you should give us some more detail about the hitch part."

"Yes. Well, unfortunately, we did encounter . . . some difficulties. For starters, we ended up losing one of our teammates. Seryu Ubiquitous We assume Night Raid is responsible."

To which the Prime Minister raised an eyebrow "Don't you mean 'was' responsible?"

"I mean is", Run replied with a shake of his head. "Night Raid somehow managed to escape during the battle."

Honest narrowed his eyes. "Escaped did they? You had an entire army at your disposal. How did they do that?"

"We still aren't certain, but our entire fleet was destroyed in a pretty unusually large blast. In fact, all of remaining men are still stranded on that island. If not for Kurome's new, ahem-puppet, we would not have had a means of getting back so quickly ourselves.

The Prime Minister suddenly threw his turkey leg down against the floor, gritting his teeth as he did. "Destroyed an entire fleet?! Stranded all of our men?! This level of incompetence is inexcusable! And how in blazes did Night Raid accomplish these feats?!"

"We suspect they used an imperial arm."

"An imperial arm?" Hearing those last two words appeared to bring the gluttonous old man to a much calmer demeanor. "Hmm, an imperial arm that has the capacity to annihilate entire fleets in one blast. Yes . . . yes. Why . . . with that sort of power, we could start entertaining talk of expanding the Grand Empire. Just think of how little trouble we would have in annexing Ali Jinnah, Reispan and even Bestimmung. Yes, it occurs to me that we must capture each member of Night Raid as soon as possible and confiscate this imperial arm of theirs."

Run nodded his head. "But of course. We'll hunt them down and-"

"But that still doesn't let you off the hook. Syura tells me that you had gone ahead and used the cannons on the warships despite my explicit order that you refrain from doing so until he gives you the okay."

"Your son? I don't recall ever seeing him that night. We were forced to make do without him."

"Oh I was there", Syura chimed in, sporting a wicked grin as he did. "Father had ordered me to retrieve all of the Revolutionary Army's imperial arms while they were preoccupied with the battle. Imagine my surprise to discover that their vault had been destroyed in an explosion caused by several of the warships' canons. Imagine the pain and horror I suffered to see that even poor General Budo did not make it out of that explosion alive as a result of your inability to follow orders. Now because of you, we've not only lost a great man, but the treasure trove of imperial arms that were in the hands of the enemy."

Hearing this news about the fallen great general widened the naïve emperor's eyes. "Is this true? Is General Budo really dead?"

"I . . . wasn't aware of this", Run responded, equal surprise in his eyes.

To which Syura snickered, "Maybe if you weren't so careless, you would have recognized that you were putting the general's life in danger and you would have obeyed the orders you were given."

The Prime Minister turned his attention to the young Emperor. "Your majesty. We can't permit such insubordination. I believe a public execution is in order."

Both Wave and Kurome were visibly befuddled at the suggestion. So much so that the Grand Chariot wielder quickly spoke up on his companion's behalf. "Wait a minute, that's not fair, none of the warships ever-"

But Run nudged his teammate with his elbow once more, gesturing him not to say another word. "Your majesty, I take full responsibility for the loss of General Budo and the insubordination that led to his death and the loss of the imperial arms. That being said, I would disagree with the suggestion the Prime Minister offered you just now."

"Of course you would", the gluttonous old man chuckled.

"By all means, I welcome a public execution, but would advise that it be delayed for a period of one year. Word is already starting to spread of our victory against the Revolutionary Army. The public will be talking about this for some time. And through their talks and whispers, the public's faith in the strength and resolve of our glorious empire will be echoed throughout not just our nation, but Reispan, Bestimmung and Ali Jinnah as well. And the more praise you receive, your majesty, the less likely it is that anyone will ever consider supporting another insurgency. On the other hand, I can't say how well immediately executing one of the heroes who helped saved the empire from the clutches of the Revolutionary Army will go over with the public."

Hearing this made Honest laugh derisively. "His majesty is not interested with how well your execution will-"

But to the shock of everyone in the room besides Run, the Emperor interrupted his trusted adviser for the first time ever. "That's a great idea! We'll hold off on your execution. For now, the public should be focused on what you guys accomplished. We can even have a parade!"

The Prime Minister, looking quite perplexed, rested one of his hands on the young boy's shoulder and kindly looked him in the eyes. "But . . . your majesty, if not for this man's insubordination, General Budo would be dead."

For a brief instant, Run had a smug smirk on his face. An instant so brief, no one noticed. His smirk quickly evaporated only to be replaced with a look of genuine cheerfulness. "Your most trusted adviser is most correct, your highness, but I am simply suggesting that my punishment be delayed. I can always be executed at a later date, perhaps quietly if that would be more advantageous. Right now, the public's focus ought to be on your victory. And may I say that that parade idea of yours is truly magnificent! You could sit atop a giant papier-mâché float, waving your scepter at the crowd and Kurome, Wave and I could sit at the bottom. It's magnificently brilliant!"

And just like, a light blush appeared on the Emperor's cheeks. To hear such words be used to describe him was certainly something he was not used to. What's more, this was no doubt the first time someone had praised an idea he had come up with without Honest's help. "You really think it's brilliant?"

"Of course!", Run said, his face looking ever so cheerful.

Honest tried speaking up one more time; he made one more effort to persuade the Emperor, "B-b-but your majesty."

But it was no use; the Emperor had made up his mind and made a decision independent of his adviser for the first time since his reign. And he did so joyfully at that. "Lets go along with this idea! I can't wait to ride in the parade!"

Needless to say, the Prime Minister was less than pleased with what had just happened. He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists and glared at Run with such venom and hatred in his eyes. Ever the skilled actor, however, Run simply played dumb, continuing to cheerfully smile at the Emperor.

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Melancholy_** **_. . . ._ ]**

* * *

Fifteen miles to the west of the Capital was a thick forest that was very much uninhabited by humans. Class one danger beasts were known to thrive in this area, making it a poor place for travel and an equally poor place for run of the mill highway men to hide out at. The Night Raid assassins, however, were anything but run of the mill highway men.

Deep in the forest and late in the evening, Leone was sitting on a log next to a warm campfire. Akame was sitting on a log, opposite to her feral companion, with her left hand tightly clenching Murasame's sheath and her left thumb pressed tightly below the hilt's guard. Hearing someone approach from the bushes nearby, the Akame used her thumb to slightly unsheathe her blade. Leone narrowed her eyes and immediately stood up.

But the two assassins' concerns were quickly put to ease as it was none other than Lubbock who was approaching them. He was holding a brown paper grocery bag in his hands and a had a cloth sack bag tied to his back. "Take it easy", he said in an assuring tone. "It's just me."

The red eyed assassin placed her blade back in its sheath. "We can't be too careful. Not after all that's happened."

Leone nodded her head. "Yeah, don't try sneaking up on us like that."

To which tLubbock responded, "I didn't really have much of a choice. It would've been a lot easier for someone to follow me otherwise."

"Whatever. Whadd'ya got in there?", Leone, eyeing up the grocery bag her comrade had in his hands.

"10 turkey sandwiches, 10 bags of potato chips, 10 candy bars and one bottle of tequila!"

"Awe, just one?", Leone pouted. "Why 10 of everything else?!"

Lubbuck narrowed his eyebrows, looking somewhat annoyed. "There was a sale on everything else! Do you have any idea how much they charge per bottle?!"

Not paying her green haired comrade any mind, the feral assassin snatched the single alcoholic beverage out from the bag, popped the top off and began drinking straight out the bottle.

Which only seemed to annoy Lubbock even more. "Hey! That was supposed to be for all of us!"

But despite his protests, she simply kept gulping. Sensing the futility in pressing the matter, the green haired assassin sighed and directed his attention to Akame instead. His expression immediately went from annoyed to concerned. "How's everyone holding up?"

To which Akame responded, "Najenda is still attending to her father."

"I see. And what about Tatsumi?"

"He went to take a walk."

"He hasn't been too talkative since learning all of that happened."

"None of us have", Akame noted with a sorrowful sigh.

Leone suddenly put the bottle of tequila down next to the log she had been sitting on. She looked as if she had been overcome with a sudden surge of melancholy. "I always knew any one of us could die at any moment, but after losing Sheele and Bulat, I guess a small part of me figured that that was the full of extent of the hell we would be put through before finally saving this country. That we had finally paid our due for being assassins. But Su, Mein and Chelsea . . . it's too much. Way too much."

"Lubbock", said Akame. "We know what happened to Mein and Su, but you never did tell us what happened to Chelsea. Specifically, 'who' was responsible for her death?"

"I don't know. When I went down to the fortress' basement, I saw her body sitting up against a wall near the ransacked vault. I didn't have time to examine her body for wounds, but however she died, it wasn't messy. Had to be a clean kill and done in a way to make it difficult to identify the culprit."

"I see", Akame replied, her words shrouded in disappointment. "Then avenging her might be out of the question."

"I wouldn't be too sure", Lubbock said, reaching for the items in the cloth sack he had been carrying on his back. He pulled out a thick research notebook and a diary"

A hint of curiosity beamed in the red eyed assassin's eyes; the two items in Lubbock's hands had her full attention. "What's that?"

"Evidently, Chelsea left these stored away in my shop. I was in a hurry to get back to our hideout the other day and had given her my spare key so she could lock up behind me. She must've used the key to drop this stuff off before getting to the Revolutionary's Army's base somehow. I bet we're bound to get some answers if we look through these."

"This is going to sound weird coming from me", said Leone, her composure shifting to one of seriousness. "And I'd love nothing more to choke the life out of whoever did that to Chelsea, but . . . right now, we need to decide what's going to happen to Night Raid before we do anything else."

Lubbock shot the feral assassin an incredulous look. "What do you mean decide what's going to happen to Night Raid? There's still five of us ready to go forward with the mission. We can still-"

"No", Akame interrupted, nonchalantly shaking her head as she did. "Leone's right. Night Raid was created for the purpose of being a covert division of the Revolutionary Army. An army that, to our knowledge, no longer exist."

"That may be so", Lubbock agreed. "But we're assassins. We've more or less been operating alone up to this point."

To which Leone answered, "But it was never going to be us alone that overthrew the capital. All we were doing was making it easier for the army to come in and restore order. Now the situation has changed. We don't have an army. And even worse, we have no idea what our leader is going to do."

Paying special attention that last sentence, Lubbock averted his gaze to the ground upon. "I see your point. Where is she right now?"

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Harsh . . . Cold . . . Reality_** **_. . . ._ ]**

* * *

Within the Jaegars' wing of the imperial palace, its remaining three members each sat at the main table in their dining room while eating a meal. Wave, having not sat in this room for quite some time, couldn't help but feel an unnerving feeling. Just glancing upon all of the empty chairs at the table, it was hard to imagine that the Jaegars used to have greater numbers.

Run, having the same realization, sighed. "Dr. Stylish, Bols and now Seryu. It's hard to believe that it's just us three now."

"I keep turning my head . . .", Wave said, his eyes full of nostalgia, ". . . finding myself thinking that Bols is going to walk in here with his little girl and ask us to taste some cupcakes her mother helped her make."

"Or that Seryu will feed Koro some table scraps", Kurome added.

Run started to chuckle, "Or that Dr. Stylish will be . . . Dr. Stylish."

To which both Wave and Kurome broke out into deafening laughter. Unable to control himself, Run swiftly joined his comrades in their merriment. Though after what seemed like a full minute, their laughter died down.

"We've lost a lot", Run noted, gradually having retained his composure. "But we've come very far. All that remains is finally defeating Night Raid. And with the commander, that's all but a foregone conclusion."

Hearing this sentiment, however, Wave couldn't help but ask a question, "Say, what are you going to do after we've beaten Night Raid?"

To which Run replied nonchalantly, "Do what I came to the capital to do in the first place. Fix the country."

But hearing this response left a somewhat perplexed look on Wave's face. "But what about all that stuff about letting yourself be publicly executed after a year?"

Run, of course, chuckled for a moment before answering. "That'll never happen."

"So then what was the point of all that talk of yours back there in the throne room?"

"Wave, you've told me you want to fix the Grand Empire from within, but have you ever actually thought of a way to accomplish this?"

The Grand Chariot wielder scratched the back of his head, momentarily averting his gaze from his blonde haired companion. "To tell you the truth . . . no. But that doesn't mean there isn't-"

"There is a way to do it. And I know exactly how. The heart of all the corruption in the Capital goes back to the Prime Minister and his influence over the Emperor. Take the Prime Minister out of the picture and the corruption will eliminate itself if the right steps are taken afterwards."

"So what are you suggesting we do?", Wave said, a rather serious look in his eyes. Thoughts of what he had done to the late Seryu Ubiquitious, the other night, immediately crossed his mind.

"Joining the Jaegars has given me ample opportunity to observe the Prime Minister firsthand as well as get in the Emperor's good graces. I have a pretty good idea of how they both think. Give me six months and I'll be the one advising the Emperor. The Prime Minister will lose all of his influence and fade away from the royal scene. He will be irrelevant."

"You really think you can pull that off?"

"Of course I can. I have three advantages. #1. The Emperor is a child. #2. I've been dealing with children for most of my life and understand them better than the Prime Minister ever could. #3. The Prime Minister was foolhardy enough to allow someone like me into the imperial court in the first place. That mistake will cost him every fragment of power he's ever gotten his grubby old hands on."

"Run, that's incredible! But don't you think the Prime Minister is going to be gunning for you while you're doing all of this?"

"There's no doubt he will. Fortunately, he isn't too hard to read or anticipate. It's his son that I haven't quite figured out yet."

"Yeah, why did his son tell those lies?", Wave asked, rubbing his chin. "The warships' cannons were never used to attack the fortress."

"His son must be up to something. Problem is that we don't know what. Even worse, as long as Syura remains part of the equation, he remains an unknown variable. There's no telling how he could be used to throw a wrench in our plans. It's imperative we find out as much as we can about him."

"Maybe the commander knows a little more about him. I'm sure if we asked her, she could-"

"Hold on, Wave!", Run interrupted in a rather serious tone. "Lets not get carried away here. If you want to see if the commander knows anything about the Prime Minister's son, be my guest. But, do not tell her anything of my plan. She isn't interested in rooting out the corruption in the Capital and could very well end up interpreting my plan as treason. For now, the less she knows, the better."

Kurome sternly narrowed her eyes towards her blonde haired companion, "You don't plan on committing treason, do you?"

To which Run responded, maintaining a confident smirk, "Of course not! I'll save the country without breaking a single law or spilling a single ounce of blood. I intend to defeat the Prime Minister with my wits and nothing more."

Hearing that, the black eyed girl's stern demeanor suddenly vanished, replaced by an innocent and cheerful one. "That's good! I'd hate to have to come after you like I do my sister!"

"Kurome, just to be safe", Wave said, turning towards the black eyed Jaegar and resting a comforting hand on her shoulder, ". . . don't tell anyone about what Run and I just discussed, okay?"

"It's a deal, provided we go get some chocolate ice cream ASAP! Your treat!", she said with a wide grin.

" _You little conniver!_ ", Wave thought, smiling halfheartedly.

"I could really go for some ice cream myself", Run added. "Go ahead and ask the commander about the Prime Minister's son. We'll meet you down at the parlor at 5th street."

With that, the three Jaegars got up from their dining chairs and exited the room. Kurome and Run headed downstairs, intent upon exiting the palace and heading into town. Wave, on the other hand, began making his way towards Esdeath's personal chambers.

Both the Ice Queen and the Jaergars' bedrooms were located in the same wing of the palace, but Esdeath's quarters' were the furthest down the hallway and no doubt the most extravagant given her standing and notoriety. The Grand Chariot wielder made his way towards a luxurious set of double doors. He was about to knock on them, only to find his thoughts wondering.

" _Why did I kill Seryu? I hated her with a passion, but did she really deserve to die?_ "

He recalled what he had said to Tatsumi during their brief skirmish outside of the Revolutionary Army fortress. How he had lectured him about being a murderer. " _Am I really any better at this point? Have I ever been better? The commander has undoubtedly displayed her fair share of cruelty, most of which was far worse, but I've never said, much less done a thing."_

The lone Jaegar finally started to knock on the door, albeit a bit weakly. " _Is it because I'm afraid of her? Am I just a coward?_ "

He knocked a total of three times, but heard no answer. He proceeded knock an additional three times, albeit harder, but still heard nothing. Finally, he turned one of the knobs on the double doors, surprised to see that they were not locked.

He opened the door and walked inside, immediately noticing that the lights were off and that a record player had been turned on. The device was currently playing a classical music piano piece. Although the lights were off, there was one source of light being emitted in the room and it was coming from the fireplace to the side.

It was upon looking in this direction that Wave noticed the Ice Queen sitting in a brown luxurious Queen Ann styling vinyl chair which was directly facing the fireplace. Esdeath wasn't wearing her general attire; she was wearing a dark brown floral shirt with laced sleeves as well as a matching dark brown pair of khaki pants. What's more, her long blue hair was tied up into a pony tail.

"I don't recall giving you permission to come in", the general callously said, notwithstanding the fact that her eyes seemed be focused on the pencil and sketchbook in her hands.

Wave suddenly felt a shiver surging up his spine. "Sorry! I didn't mean to . . . it was a mistake! I'll just turn around and go back out the way I came and-"

To which the Ice Queen sighed, her eyes still focused on her sketchbook. "State your business. Depending on how this conversation goes, I just might overlook your unwelcome intrusion just now."

"Yes ma'am", he uttered with a quick and reverent bow of his head. "When we made the report regarding our last mission to the Emperor earlier, the Prime Minister's son, Syura, claimed that Run used the warships to blast the fortress, contrary to the Prime Minister's orders. He also said that General Budo died in the explosion. But you know that's false! You cleared out the insides of the fortress yourself! There was no external or internal damage to the basement, much less any sign of General Budo."

"Fascinating. I had suspected that old geezer had perished. I wonder who did him in. I also wonder what the Prime Minister's son thinks he's playing at."

"Commander, you wouldn't happen to know a little more about Syura, would you?"

"I haven't made the effort to learn much. He's not really high on my priorities. He certainly appears to have his own ambitions. However, I did encounter him once before he started appearing alongside his father in the throne room."

"You encountered him before?"

"He was the one who sent Tatsumi and I to that uninhabited southern island I had told you all about a while back. I had since done some research in an effort to learn how he accomplished this feat and it turns out he did so through an imperial arm by the name of 'Dimensional Formation: Shambhala.' It's an imperial arm that grants its wielder the ability to teleport from one location to another."

"I don't understand. If you know he was the one who transported you and Tatsumi from Mt. Fake down to that southern island, why haven't you confronted him since then?"

Esdeath widened her eyes momentarily, clearly never having considered that question herself. Upon pondering for a few moments, a small and reluctant smile manifested itself on her lips. "Perhaps I was so fond of the time I spent down on that island that vengeance upon the one who sent me there in the first place never crossed my mind."

Wave was taken aback for a moment, not having expected to hear such an answer from his ruthless commander. It was during this moment that he noticed a familiar item on the end table adjacent to the chair the Ice Queen was sitting at; resting on it was that blue rose encased in ice that Tatsumi had given her. Despite the fireplace's heat, there was no hint of it melting. "After all that has happened . . . does this mean you still love him?"

"What a foolish question to ask, Wave", she responded, her words not matching her demeanor. She was still smiling, albeit reluctantly. "Of course I do."

"Then what do you intend to do now that you know he is a part of Night Raid?"

"You ask yet another foolish question. The answer to that one is just as simple", she said, immediately turning her eyes away from her sketchbook and directing them towards her subordinate. Only her smile had suddenly vanished. She looked serious. "I intend to kill him."

Wave swiftly jumped back, not having expected his commander to ever say such words about Tatsumi. To say he was absolutely shocked would be an understatement. "What?! But why?!"

"He is my enemy. Do I need any other reason?"

"You just said you still love him!"

"A fact which has no bearing on the cold and harsh reality that pertains to him."

"I know he's a part of Night Raid, but he cares about you as well. Maybe if you just-"

"Try talking to him? You mean like how he had 'tried' talking to me during our last encounter? Hmph. Somewhere in deepest part of his soul, he must've realized the truth. I will not change and neither will he. Tatsumi and I may have a world of differences, but the one thing we have in common first and foremost is that we are both defined by our ideals. I believe in survival of the fittest. He believes in coddling the weak. What feelings he may have towards me, if any, are irrelevant at this point. Suffice to say, Najenda was absolutely correct. Sooner or later, his ideals will force him to oppose me.. Neither of us will compromise, leaving us with only one possible outcome."

"So then you're really going to do it then?"

She averted her eyes back to the sketchbook in her hands. "Yes. I will see to it that he dies by my hands quick and painlessly. If anyone interferes, they will die as well."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Bitter tears_** **_. . . ._ ]**

* * *

Even though it was night time, birds, deer and a host of other woodland creatures were fleeing one particular area of the forest Night Raid was residing in. Only upon observing the trail of dead danger beasts' bodies did the reason these animals were fleeing become clear. And it was a long trail indeed. Scores of danger beasts in fact. Were one to follow the trail, it would lead them to an open clearing where the stars and the moon were at their brightest.

Within the middle of an open field was Tatsumi who was donned in Incursio's armored state. Despite not having his spear equipped, he boldly stood in the center of a rabid pack of goblin like danger beasts. Each of them were no more than 5'0 in height, but nonetheless looked ferocious. They carried a wide assortment of weapons, from swords, to axes, to maces, to spears; they were well armed. And not only were they armed, but they were many. A total of fifty such creatures surrounded Tatsumi. And based on the look in each one's eyes, they all wanted a piece of him.

With no hint or warning whatsoever, they all rushed towards the young man simultaneously, clearly intent on overwhelming him with their superior numbers. Their mistake and their undoing, for the Incursio wielder readily took them to task. The next 120 seconds could be summarized in a single word: Brutality.

Based on the way the Night Raid assassin was fighting, it was clear he wasn't thinking about efficiency. He was throwing wide haymakers. He was tackling a number of the vermin. He was swinging his fists and legs around blindly. His moves were sloppy and unrestrained. But despite the way he was fighting, none of the vermin could lay a hand on them. For in addition to his sloppiness, his moves were also barbaric. He was gouging their eyes out, he was ripping their limbs off much like a child would dismember the legs on an insect, he was breaking their spines with his knees. This was without a doubt the most vicious display Tatsumi had ever shown.

As 120 seconds had come and gone, the young assassin's armor was covered in blood. With the way he had been fighting, he had practically bathed in it. He then noticed one goblin-like beast remaining and it, unlike its brethren, was attempting to make a run for it.

Tatsumi hurriedly bolted towards the beast, tackling it to the ground. He pinned the creatures arms to the ground with his knees and proceeded to rain down MMA 'ground and pound' style blows with his unrestrained fist, yelling and screaming like a bloodthirsty madman as he did. The first punch had certainly killed the monster, but Tatsumi kept going anyway, eventually beating his fist into what was nothing more than a bloody paste.

As he was about to rain down another blow with his right hand, he could feel another pair of hands catching his own by the wrist. "THAT'S ENOUGH, TATSUMI!"

The young man came to a sudden stop, panting hurriedly and heavily. He looked up to see who had stopped him. "Akame."

"What are you doing?!", she asked, appearing openly frantic and distressed.

He reverted Incursio back to its dormant short sword state, still inhaling and exhaling at the same heavy and rapid pace. "I don't know . . . this just . . . started happening."

Akame promptly pulled her companion's arm up and helped him stand back onto his feet. "You said you were going for a walk."

He shifted his head back towards the ground, "They're all dead. They're really gone, aren't they?"

To which Akame reluctantly nodded her head.

Even though his head was down, tear drops could be seen hitting the ground in front of him "Why does this keep happening?"

"It's unfortunate, but such is the life of an assassin."

More tears began to drop to the ground. "Then why them? Why did it have to be them?"

"Tatsumi?"

"If anyone deserves divine retribution, it's me."

"What are you saying?"

"I had the opportunity to lure Esdeath away that morning! Had she not been there, nobody would've died!"

"You can't really know that for sure."

"But I do. Don't you see? I'm the one who killed Mein. I'm the one who killed Su. I'm the one who killed Chelsea. Especially Chelsea. I did it. I promised her I would always watch her back. Yet look what I let happen."

"Quit blaming yourself for things that are beyond your control!"

"Are they really? When I murdered Klaus Hartmann, that wasn't beyond my control. I murdered the man in cold blood despite everything he'd done for me. And now it turns out I killed him for nothing. It was all part of Esdeath's plan."

"You didn't know that!"

"But I should have! I should have known it! I knew in my heart I was doing something wrong, but I did it anyway! I killed him! I killed an innocent man! And what's worse, I ran around at the same time looking for ways and making excuses to save someone like Esdeath. Can you believe that? If anyone should have died, it should've been m-!"

But before he could utter that last word, Akame proceeded to step in front of her companion and slap him across the face. Startled by the sudden sting on his cheeks, Tatsumi looked directly into the red eyed assassin's eyes only to see she was in tears as well.

It was upon seeing her tear stricken face that he was reminded of the previous occasion he saw her like this. It was back when Sheele had died and he had naively assumed that Akame was composed and used to her friends dying already. However, unlike last time, the look in her eyes was different. They were the look of betrayal.

Tatsumi immediately understood Akame's reaction and promptly rubbed away the tears descending out of his own eyes. "That's right . . . I promised you I wouldn't die. No matter how much I might wish otherwise at the moment, I'll keep that promise. You have my word."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Intentions_** **_. . . ._ ]**

* * *

Wave had been walking around the streets of the Capital, ruminating on the conversation he had just had with the Ice Queen. For one reason or another, it gave him pause _"It's strange. She says she still loves him, yet she didn't really seem all that shook about the idea of killing him. I just don't understand her thought process. Maybe she really is insane._ "

The Grand Chariot wielder subconsciously took note of the street he was on, peeling his eyes at the street sign on the street corner. His eyes widened as he noticed he was about to cross the intersection to 5th street. " _Crap! I forgot all about treating them out to ice cream! Kurome is gonna be pissed!_ " He promptly began running to the left, hurriedly making his way to the ice cream parlor Run had mentioned.

After having run halfway past a city block however, he stopped. He averted his gaze to the one of the shops on his right. It was a toy store and something through its glass window caught his attention. It was Bols' widow and she was in the process of purchasing a teddy bear for her daughter. Seeing this prompted him to walk inside.

"Mommy mommy!", said the little girl, pulling her mother's dress while she stood in front of the shop's clerk. "Look! It's Mr. Wave!"

The mother promptly looked in the Jaegar's direction. A cheerful smile on her face enveloped just as soon as she noticed him. "Hello Wave! What brings you down here?"

"Just happened to be in the area. I thought I'd say hi. What brings you two out into town at this hour?"

To which the mother responded, "We're celebrating! Gracia here did so well at her recital the other day that she got accepted into the Manfred school of performing arts. She'll be attending first thing this fall!"

Hearing this put a delightful grin on the lone Jaegar's face. He proceeded to crouch down to the little girl's eye level and pat her on the head. "Congratulations! Your mommy must be so proud!"

To which Gracia eagerly nodded her head. "I've never seen her smile this much!"

"Say, I've got an idea!", Wave enthusiastically remarked. "My friends are at the ice cream parlor two blocks away. Why don't you and your mommy join us? We can all celebrate this occasion. My treat!"

"You mean it?", said the blond haired little girl, much anticipation in her eyes.

The Grand Chariot wielder cheerfully nodded his head while standing back up, "Sure do! That is, if your mommy is okay with it I mean."

Gracia averted her gaze to her mother with puppy dog eyes, to which the mother giggled. "How could I say no to a look like that? We'll go get some ice cream."

In that instance, the little girl was overcome with so much joy that she proceeded to start skipping out the shop with her new teddy bear in hand. "Yay!"

Wave and Bols' widow followed suit, albeit without the skipping and bounces for joy. "So . . . Mrs-"

"You don't have to be so formal!", said the mother, giggling once more. "Call me Elicia."

"Alright then, Elicia. I'm sorry I missed Gracia's recital. I had planned to go, but there was a mission and . . ."

"It's quite alright. But best sure to stop by sometime. Gracia would be thrilled. Perhaps you could come during General Esdeath's next visit."

Wave looked deeply surprised as he heard the mention of his leader's name. "The commander's next visit? She's stopped by your house before?"

To which Elicia nodded. "She stops by our house every now and then. Initially, she had been stopping by to get tips on romance from Bols, but now she comes by just to listen to Gracia play."

"You don't say", the lone Jaegar remarked, reflecting back on his recent visit into the Ice Queen's room. "Elicia, has Gracia ever played something like this?" He started humming the very song that had been playing on her record player.

"Yes, that's Moonlight Sonata! If I recall correctly, that was one of General Esdeath's favorites."

Hearing this answer prompted Wave to start rubbing his chin. " _I wonder why she's listening to it now._ "

"Will General Esdeath be joining us at the ice cream parlor? Gracia would love to see her."

"No, not tonight. She's busy. Say, is it okay if I ask you something about the commander?"

"I don't see why not", Elicia blissfully responded.

"To tell you the truth, the commander doesn't exactly have a lot of friends. Sure, a lot of soldiers look up to her, but this is the first I've heard of anyone outside of the army, besides Tatsumi anyway, having good things to say about her. Why is that?"

She pondered for a moment, considering the Jaegar's question while curiously tapping the edge of her chin with her index finger. "I guess it has something to do with all the rumors surrounding her. When Bols first introduced me to her, just being around someone with her reputation sent shivers down by spine. But the more she visited our home, the more I started to doubt the rumors."

" _Rumors, eh? If she only knew . . ._ "

"Don't get me wrong. She has all the strength and rigidity I'd expect from a general of the Grand Empire. But somewhere beneath all of that lies the heart of a sensitive girl much like Gracie here."

"The commander? Sensitive?", Wave said, chuckling. "Sorry, but I just don't see it."

"If my husband had taught me anything in life, it's to never judge a book by its cover."

To which Wave gave a warm smile, recalling the first time he had met Bols and how he had jumped to conclusions about him. "Can't argue with you there."

Before the three even knew it, they were already outside the ice cream parlor. While Gracia and Elicia walked right inside, Wave stood in place momentarily, somewhat lost in thought. " _No way someone like the commander is sensitive. But there is definitely more to her than meets the eye. That much, I can say for sure._ "

* * *

 **[ _. . . . So it goes_** **_. . . ._ ]**

* * *

Within the forest, a little under half a mile from where Leone, Kurome and Lubbock had set up camp at, there was a sizable waterfall running down to a secluded lake below. Directly behind the waterfall was a cavern that was about as spacious as the average barn. Najenda had been sitting in this area throughout the day, securing the campfire therein as well as tending to her father.

She opted not to remove the chains Lubbock had tied around him, unwilling to risk what his current mental state would compel him to do. "Calm down, father. It was only a nightmare. Esdeath is not here."

"No!", the religious leader frantically yelled, vigorously shaking his head. "Her powers are beyond this world, child! She is always nearby. Always listening. Always watching! You cannot stay here! She will find you and she will destroy you!"

"We've been safe and sound for two days! Esdeath does not know we're here!"

"You don't understand! This is all part of her game. She is there even when you don't think she is there! You must flee right now before it's too late!"

"Calm down, father! Peace begins at thy own mind! Let thy mind be at peace! Don't you remember that?"

"You must-"

Before the Lord could say another word, Najenda covered his mouth with a cloth soaked in what appeared to be an anesthetic liquid. Likely chloroform. Moments upon administering this drug, the Path of Peace leader slowly closed his eyes and gradually drifted off into a deep slumber.

 _"_ Forgive me, father", she said with sorrowful sigh. "I promise you I'll get the treatment you need."

A few moments passed and the Night Raid leader had heard the sound of footsteps at the cavern's entrance. She didn't bother turning around to see who it was though. Being the veteran warrior that she was, she no doubt already knew.

It was Lubbock and he was holding the cloth sack bag he had been carrying on his back as well as the two items Chelsea had left at his shop. Without saying anything, he walked further into the cavern's interior and bent down next the Path of Peace leader. The young man removed both a pillow and blanket from his bag; he rested the pillow under the Lord's head and placed the blanket over his unconscious body.

Najenda nonchalantly observed what her subordinate was doing, "Did you purchase that in the capital?"

"Yeah", he bluntly replied, removing two sandwiches wrapped in plastic and two potato chip bags from his bag. He placed one set near the Lord's head and tossed the other set in Najenda's lap.

"Are your face, Leone's face and Tatsumi's on the wanted posters yet?"

"Not yet, but I'm pretty sure they will be. I went ahead and retrieved everything of use out of my shop just in case."

"You didn't stop at our hideout, did you?"

"No. Too risky. There's no telling how many secrets Esdeath got out of your dad after torturing him. I'm surprised she never bothered asking him about who was in Night Raid. Would've tipped her off about Tatsumi much sooner."

"She probably figured it didn't matter. By her plans, we were all going to die on that island regardless."

"Yeah", Lubbock said, simultaneously pulling another item out of his bag "Speaking of which . . ." It was a loaded .38 caliber revolver. Not sparing a second thought, he handed it to his commander.

"What's this?", Najenda asked, skeptically examining the firearm she had just been given."

Lubbock stood up on his feet, a serious look in his eyes. "I said I would take responsibility for what happened and what I did back there."

She looked down upon the revolver, narrowing her eyebrows as she did. With a fuming look in her eye, she promptly removed all five bullets out of the bullet chamber and hurriedly threw the gun to the other side of the cavern. She then swiftly stood up on her feet and sent her left fist flying straight into her subordinate's right cheek. A blow that sent the young man staggering backwards.

Lubbock was about to fall on his back, but Najenda prevented this, latching her left hand around his right shoulder and catching him. However, this was by no means a sign of compassion. Rather, she proceeded to hurl her right knee into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him upon impact. She then turned around, grabbed Lubbock's right arm with her left hand alone and body slammed him into the cavern floor.

The green haired assassin lied there on the floor, writhing in pain. And Najenda observed him, feeling no remorse for what she had just done. "If you ever walk up to me and pull some crap like that again, you'll get much worse! Understand?!"

"Ugggghhhh . . . but . . . I disobeyed your orders . . . and made you abandon thousands of soldiers."

"So you did, but I'm NOT going to kill you. End of discussion. If there's anyone to blame, it's myself for thinking you'd follow my orders! But that's all buried and done with. Floundering in the past is not going to change the future."

Lubbock laid on the floor for roughly 30 seconds, but managed to get back on his feet. Najenda had already sat back down next to the campfire, unwrapping the plastic off of her sandwich and promptly taking a bite out of it. Seeing this, he once again sat down next to her. "So . . . what exactly is the 'future?'", he asked, doing his best to show no signs of the pain he had to be feeling from the beating he had just received.

"As of now, I have no clue", she mumbled, chewing on her sandwich simultaneously. "You didn't pick up anything to wash this down with?"

"I did . . . but Leone decided to be Leone."

"Typical."

"We were all talking though and there's one thing we've got to know. What happens to Night Raid from here on out?"

"Without the Revolutionary Army backing us, there technically is no Night Raid. So as of now, we're disbanded. But, in another five to ten years, if we could put together another resistance organization, then Night Raid can resurface."

Just the look on Lubbock's face alone; it was clear he was puzzled by his commander's answer. "Five to ten years? That's an awful lot of time."

"It is, but seldom are revolutions born overnight. Once the news of the Revolutionary Army's defeat spreads throughout the country, people will lose hope. Most people will lose interest in joining a resistance movement while knowing full well it could turn out like this. Time is the minimum requirement we'll need to retain the level of strength and support we had."

To which the green haired assassin gave a reluctant sigh. "You're right. It is too soon to be thinking about another full scale revolution. But what about tying up some loose ends?"

Najenda put her sandwich down, a hint of curiosity gleaming in her eye. "Loose ends such as?"

"Chelsea's", Lubbock replied, grabbing the diary and the research notebook. "She left these in my shop before she died."

As if a lightbulb went off in her head, she hurriedly snatched both items out of Lubbock's hand and began flipping through them at an amazing speed. She spent a full five minutes skimming both pieces of text with the utmost interest and intrigue. Even as a child, she had always been leaps and bounds above her peers when it came to her studies, thus scanning these items with profound speed and retention was child's play to her.

While she was looking at the research notebook, one particular section grabbed her interest so much so that, after skimming, she spent a full ten minutes glancing her eyes over every word. Lubbock peaked his head closer to see what was getting so much of her attention only to notice a detailed schematic of Incursio, both its short sword and full body armor forms respectively, was displayed on the page his commander was eyeing closely. "What's that?", he asked.

With a confident smirk on her face, Najenda promptly closed the research notebook. "The solution to all of our problems. Go get Leone, Akame and Tatsumi pronto! I need to brief you all on Night Raid's true final mission!"

"Are you for real? But what happened to all that talk about needing to wait five to ten years before we could resurface?"

"Thanks to Chelsea, that timetable has been reduced down to five days. Five days is all we'll need be ready!"

* * *

 **[ _. . . . To Die or to Evolve, That is the Question_** **_. . . ._ ]**

* * *

It was early into the following morning; the crack of dawn to be precise. Najenda, Lubbock, Akame and Tatsumi had hiked up to the high cliff immediately overlooking both the waterfall and the lake below. There was a cool breeze of wind blowing on everyone's hair and clothes.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?", Lubbock asked, his eyes directed towards Tatsumi.

To which the Incursio wielder firmly nodded his head. "Positive."

Najenda had her eye resolutely gazed on Tatsumi, but with a much greater degree of seriousness in her eye than Lubbock. "You've had all night to think about this, Tatsumi. If you're having any seconds thoughts, now is the time to voice them."

But Tatsumi remained firm. "This might may our last chance at saving the country. If all it takes is my life to achieve this, then I will gladly do it without any hesitation!"

"Tatsumi . . .", said Akame, reflecting back on what he had said to her last night.

"I know, Akame. Though there is a good chance this will kill me, I don't plan on dying! I'll keep my promise!"

"There's not just a good chance, Tatsumi", the Night Raid commander remarked. "According to the research notebook Chelsea absconded from the Prime Minister's son, there isn't a single person who has used Incursio and survived this ritual. Granted, this notebook does date back to 1000 years ago, but even that far back, 97 different people capable of using that armor died attempting to do what you're about to do."

"But don't forget", Lubbock added. "Tatsumi beat old man Budo."

To which Najenda nodded her head. "Precisely, which is why I believe Tatsumi will be the exception to the rule thus far. Based on the description Chelsea provided us of his encounter, I hypothesize that he temporarily tapped into Incursio's true power. Or to put it differently, I believe he came close to accessing Incursio's 'perfect sync.'

No more than a moment later, nearby thuds could be heard emanating from the ground. So loud that Tatsumi, Akame and Lubbock turned to the direction the sounds were coming from to identify what was approaching. To their surprise, however, it was Leone and she, through the super human strength afforded to her by her imperial arm, was barely carrying a boulder the size of an elephant. Her legs were buckling as she hauled this large object and her facial expressions made it clear that she was using every muster of strength she had just to move this heavy earthen monstrosity.

The feral assassin set the massive boulder on the edge of the cliff before wiping away the sweat on her brow. "Don't you dare go dying on us, Tatsumi. Especially after the boss lady here made me haul this shit all the way up here. Damn near broke my back."

Najenda, however, didn't appear to share her blonde haired subordinate's concerns. "Thanks to Lionel's regenerative powers, you were able to regrow your stomach and liver in just a day. How much time would it take for you to heal a broken spine? A good night's sleep?"

Leone stood there fuming. "For your information, regrowing your internal organs hurts like HELL!"

"I bet. Nothing you can't drink off", Najenda retorted with casual disregard. "Now . . . if you would do the honors."

Leone nodded her head, a sudden aura of seriousness surrounding her as she did. She walked up to an otherwise oblivious Tatsumi. Then, with no hint or warning, she nailed him in the stomach with a thunderous right punch.

Not wearing his Incursio armor, Tatsumi immediately doubled over and fell to his knees. He readily gasped for air while coughing up blood. If two words could be used to describe his current state of being, it was pure agony.

"What'd you go doing that for?!", Lubbock snarled.

"It was the boss' idea", Leone replied, reluctantly averting her eyes from Tatsumi.

Hearing this, the green haired assassin immediately shifted his attention to his commander, albeit with confusion rather than hostility. "Miss Najenda, what are you doing? With her strength, she could've easily killed him."

"I decided to modify the plan a little bit. I told Leone to only use a fraction of her strength; just enough to induce internal bleeding."

"But why?!", Lubbock queried, still perplexed about his leader's judgment.

To which she answered, "It occurs to me that we must mirror the conditions Tatsumi had during his battle with Budo as much as possible. Based on Chelsea's report, Budo had all but killed Tatsumi at one point. Therefore, Tatsumi shall be all but dead before undergoing this ritual. Now all that remains is tying Tatsumi to that boulder right there and dropping it into the lake. Now Lubbock, if you would . . ."

With a reluctant nod of his head, Lubbock grabbed some chains they had brought with them for this occasion. He began walking towards Tatsumi, only for Akame to promptly stand in his way.

"Wait", said the red eyed assassin. "If we're going by Chelsea's report, there's still one other variable we're missing."

"Akame", Najenda said, appearing to have already deduced what she was implying. "The fact that Tatsumi reaching perfect sync could make us victorious is likely sufficient motivation enough."

"But what if it isn't sufficient motivation? Then Tatsumi will die and all of this will have been for nothing. Based on Chelsea's report, Chelsea herself was in danger. If we're going to mirror the conditions in her report as much as possible, then have Lubbock tie me to that boulder as well."

Hearing this, Tatsumi shot his red eyed companion a look of disapproval. "No! I refuse. Don't do this!"

But Akame nonetheless disregarded the Incursio wielder's words, removing her imperial arm and its sheath from the strap tied to her waist and setting them on the ground before her. "Tatsumi, just make sure you keep your promise and you won't have to worry about anything."

Najenda, appearing to have made up her mind, promptly directed her attention back to her green haired subordinate "Alright then. Tie them both to the boulder right now."

And so, full of unease and reluctance, Lubbock did just that; he wrapped the chains around the massive rock with both Tatsumi and Akame secured to the front.

With that, the Night Raid commander began to walk around and move about in such a fashion as to command the attention of her four subordinates present, much like a defense attorney preparing to make a closing argument. "Imperial arms are weapons forged by combining three materials. An exceedingly rare metal, the blood and soul of an ultra class danger beast and a mysterious substance the research notebook describes as dark matter. By combining these materials, a single human may wield and harness the power of an ultra class danger beast. Not every human, however, can wield these weapons. To wield an imperial arm, a human's soul must be compatible with the soul of the ultra class danger beast. This is why despite having had a full army to back us, only the few of us in Night Raid were wielding imperial arms. This level of compatibility is described as quarter sync. As the name suggest, one's soul is 25% compatible with the soul of the ultra class danger beast. The level beyond this is described as half sync. Those capable of half sync are able to use what we call an imperial arm's 'trump card'. But then there's a level beyond half sync: Perfect sync. It is a state that goes beyond a mere trump card. This is a level in which one's soul is 100% compatible with the soul of the ultra-class danger beast. If this level is obtained, one will be able to tap into their imperial arm's true potential."

Still speaking and moving about in a charismatic fashion, Najenda averted her gaze towards Tatsumi. "Incursio's perfect sync is hypothesized to be accessible through placing it and its wielder into a situation in which it is forced to evolve both the mind and the body. Unfortunately, the research notebook indicates that of the numerous test subjects that have wielded Incursio in the past, none have ever achieved perfect sync with Incursio and all have died trying. But, unlike the prior test subjects, none have ever had an encounter quite the like the one you had with General Budo. It is because of this that I believe you have what it takes to achieve perfect sync with Incursio."

The Night Raid commander then turned her attention from Tatsumi to Akame. "If Night Raid's final mission is to be successful, it is imperative that Tatsumi reach perfect sync. With perfect sync, he can nullify the one and only obstacle that is sure to prevent this mission from being a success: General Esdeath. Amongst all of us, Tatsumi was the only one who wasn't affected by Esdeath's ability to freeze time. As of now, that makes him the only person on the face of the earth who has any means of matching her in combat. As long as Esdeath is not a factor, we can deal with everything else."

Still speaking passionately, she gazed upon Tatsumi, Akame, Leone and Lubbock simultaneously. "Even so, the risks I am imposing on you all by going forward with this plan are all too clear to me. I may only have one eye, but I am not blind to the truth. Last night, I asked each of you what your thoughts were on this plan and you all agreed to it. But that was before you knew of the two deviations that have been added. Tatsumi's internal bleeding and Akame dying as well if he fails. Knowing this, are you all still prepared to go forward with this? Speak now or forever hold your peace."

Lubbock was the first to answer. "There's a big part of me that was hoping Tatsumi would say no to this. But knowing him, he'll just go try this ritual himself even if we all don't support it, so I'm going to say yes and put my faith in him instead."

Then came Leone. "Tatsumi has grown a lot since we first met in that tavern all those months ago. I don't want him to throw his life away, but know he and Akame have made up their minds about this. So I'll put my faith in him as well."

Akame was next. "Tatsumi promised me he wouldn't die. I believe he'll keep this promise and will even stake my life on this. My faith rests with him."

And last was Tatsumi, who maintained a heartfelt expression on his face despite the pain he was in ". . . I never knew you guys had so much faith and confidence in me."

"It's called respect, Tatsumi", Najenda remarked in response. "Given your triumphs up till now, you've certainly earned it. Unfortunately, their respect isn't what the next several minutes is going to boil down to. In that short time frame, you will be given two options and two options alone: Death or Evolution. Which will you choose?"

"I will evolve!", Tatsumi shouted with the utmost faith and conviction.

Najenda sternly looked the Incursio wielder in the eyes. "Then evolve!"

As if acting on cue, Leone promptly proceeded to push the large boulder off the cliff, sending both Tatsumi and Akame rapidly descending down into the lake below. Fortunately, the feral assassin has pushed the rock in such a way as to insure that the two would fall into the lake with their bodies facing the sky.

Within no more than three seconds, the sizable boulder had submerged fully into the lake and was rapidly plummeting to the bottom. As they sunk lower and lower, Tatsumi was desperately trying to break out of the chains wrapped around him. Though to his misfortune, he could not even make them budge. The hit he received from Leone earlier had greatly weakened him and his enhanced strength was nonexistent without Incursio being in its armored state. The latter was perhaps literally out of arm's reached, as Incursio was in its short-sword form and sheathed to the coffee haired assassin's back.

Still sinking towards to the bottom of the lake at a rapid speed, he held his breath to the best of his ability while turning his head to see how Akame was doing. She too was holding her breath, though to a much greater degree of success than he was given that she had not already sustained an injury prior to being chained up.

What started off as a couple of seconds quickly translated into a full minute and a half, still no sign of the chains loosening or anything out of the ordinary happening. He was convulsing around and about, but his efforts were meaningless. " _No_ , _not again!"_ , he frantically thought, shifting and rustling as hard as he could. He anxiously turned his head to Akame, noting that she was still holding her breath. Even so, if things were to continue as they were, they'd both surely drown.

With an additional 30 seconds, Tatsumi felt his consciousness slipping. He was barely still holding his breath, but the internal bleeding was a different matter altogether. He was about to reach a point where it wouldn't matter whether he got free of the chains or not. He was clearly on the verge of passing out. " _Am I really going to let another friend die? No, I refuse! It won't happen! It can't happen!"_

Despite the coffee haired assassin's mental bravado, his eyes started to fade, his mouth and nostrils began to open and water began inside. " _Not . . . again_." And just like that, everything faded to black.

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Through the Looking Glass. . . ._ ]**

* * *

It was the middle of the night and Tatsumi had been sleeping tranquilly in a familiar and luxurious bedroom. There was also a fierce thunderstorm brewing outside. A flash of lightning suddenly appeared, lighting up the entire room for a single second. Like all flashes of lightning, this flash was later followed by the brash and mighty sound of thunder.

The coffee haired assassin immediately sprang up in response, sitting upwards on the bed as he did. Wearing no shirt, he was panting at a rapid pace, revealing the look of someone who had just had a terrible nightmare.

"Must've been quite the nightmare to send you springing up like that", a familiar voice said amidst yawning. Someone had been sleeping right next to young man. But who?

Tatsumi turned his head to identify who it was that was sleeping next to him, only to be surprised as this person proceeded to sit up in an upright position as well."

It was none other than Esdeath and she was wearing a loose black nightie. And on the Ice Queen's face was a sincere yet intrigued smile. "So tell me: What's on your mind?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Alright folks, we're finally heading into the home stretch for this fic. I won't spoil anything for the next chapter, but it's probably gonna contain the most pivotal in this fic, so make sure to tune in! Regardless, we're down to our final four chapters after this.

Love it? Hate it? Meh? Lemme know what you think! As always, I appreciate your thoughts, both constructive and positive! Trolling too, provided you're at least clever about it! ;) As always, thanks for reading!


	14. Kill the Paradigm Shift

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 **A/N:** We've once again made our way to another new chapter! And boy what a chapter we've made our way to! After this chapter comes the final segment of the fic!

As always, thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews! I'd like to give a quick shoutout to a couple of reviewers:

To **Kabrito** , keep reading till the end. I have a suspicion you'll be satisfied with the way I end this fic and that's all I'm gonna say! ;)

To **HankAKiller** , thanks for the multiple reviews man as well as for checking into my other works. Much appreciated! Will definitely try to cut down of any of the seemingly extraneous material. Though I am a big advocate of chekov's gun, I will admit that not every single idea I've had at the time of expressing it has carried its way into later chapters via the form I intended. All in all though, I try and write in a fashion where everything 'connects', so to speak.

To any other guest reviewers I'm not able to respond to via private message, thanks for the review and thanks for reading!

And awwwwwwaaaaay we go!

* * *

 _ **Updated on 1/21/17 - Fixed prose and grammatical errors**_

* * *

 _ **Episode 27: Kill the Paradigm Shift**_

It was the following morning and Tatsumi was dressed in his usual attire. He was stepping out the double doors of the Capital's hospital, only to be greeted by an intrigued Esdeath. The Ice Queen had been patiently leaning up against the hospital's exterior wall.

"Well?", she asked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Don't keep me waiting. What did the doctor tell you?"

"Uh . . . Dr. Rever said I was probably suffering from a rare neurological disorder; that my nightmare must've been so severe as to trigger temporary memory loss."

Esdeath had a sudden smirk of satisfaction on her lips; her expression screamed vindication. "See? Exactly as I told you. And for the record, the name of your condition is nachtmahripia and the symptoms are temporary at best. You should have let me diagnose you. I'm certain my understanding of human mind surpasses Dr. Quack's by far."

"Maybe when it comes to torturing people!", he responded in a passive aggressive demeanor.

"Are you still going on about that?", she replied with the raise of an eyebrow. "How many times must I tell you? It was all a bad dream. I'm not a mass murderer, you're not part of some group of assassins called Night Raid and things like these 'imperial arms' you've been telling me about most certainly don't exist. Even Dr. Quack can tell you that much."

"That's ridiculous. I've been assassinating people for the past year now! Are you telling me I just dreamt all of that up?!"

She shook her head patronizingly. "That's why they're called dreams, Tatsumi. Everyone has them. I once dreamed a colossal robot attacked the Capital. Since when has there been a rule saying dreams couldn't be ridiculous?"

" _This has got to be all some sort of trick of hers. There's just no other explanation. I've gotta get out of here. Get back to Night Raid somehow._ "

While Tatsumi stood there pondering, he was oblivious to the Ice Queen stepping behind him and intimately wrapping her arms around his waist. She proceeded to seductively nibble on one of his ear lobes. Then, with a whisper, she said, "I can think of a couple of ways to put your mind at ease."

"Whoa whoa whoa", the Incursio wielder apprehensively exclaimed, slipping out of the general's grasp and promptly turning around to face her. "Maybe you should think of a couple of ways that don't involve THAT."

"Such as?", she asked with a pouting sigh.

Tatsumi was about to mouth an answer, only to be interrupted by the sight of an elderly woman frantically screaming, "Help! Help! He stole my purse!"

The young man instinctively grabbed the hilt of the short sword on his back, swiftly pulling it out and mentally readying himself for combat. However, with but a single offhand glance at the blade, he paused, shocked to see what he was holding. It wasn't Incursio; it was an ordinary short sword much like the one he had when he first entered the Capital. " _What's going on here?!_ "

As Tatsumi stood petrified, the purse snatcher ran right past him, clearly on the verge of making his getaway. He ran no more than a full one fifty yards, only to stop dead in his tracks as a speedy figure appeared right of him.

It was Esdeath and she had her rapier out, the tip pressed gently against the thief's throat. "I believe you took something that doesn't belong to you. Hand it over."

The robber hurriedly complied, tossing the purse in Esdeath's free hand before reaching both of his hands into the sky. Two nearby guards subsequently ran to the scene, handcuffed the thief and took him into their custody, presumably intent upon taking him to the nearest jail. The Ice Queen then approached the old lady who had been robbed and handed her her purse.

"Thank you, General Esdeath! The Capital is blessed to have you!", she said, her demeanor being most gracious.

"All in a day's work, ma'am", she replied with a cheerful nod, placing her long rapier back into its sheath simultaneously.

Tatsumi, who had seen every detail of what had just transpired, rubbed his eyes to make certain he wasn't seeing things. As the old woman walked away, he walked up to his blue haired companion, dumbstruck. "Um . . . Esdeath, what are you doing?"

To which the Ice Queen smirked. "Protecting people of course!"

"But . . . what about all that stuff about survival of the fittest? Isn't that woman weak for not being able to stop the thief on her own?"

"Perhaps, but as the leader of the champions of justice, my job is to protect the weak."

"Champions of justice? Have you hit your head or something? The Esdeath I know doesn't talk like that."

"The Esdeath in your nightmare, right? That's why it was a nightmare, Tatsumi. Nothing more. As you can see, I'm real. Or would you prefer a demonstration?"

Tatsumi was suddenly reminded of that time he and Esdeath were on that southern island Syura had sent them to. Particularly what occurred when the subject of whether they were in a dream came up. "You mean like kissing me or something?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of hurting you to some extent by means of a pinch", she smiled.

"Oh, well make it quick-mmmmfff"

With no warning, she promptly captured his lips with her own, only to pull back after several moments of this sensation. "But this works too. Feels real to me."

Tatsumi found himself blushing, but promptly shook away the feeling, determined to concentrate on the matter at hand. " _She's right. This does feel real. But there's just no way I dreamt up Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army."_

"That did feel real, but we can't be too certain about whether your dream hypothesis has been refuted. I propose some more thorough demonstrations back in our chambers. To maximize the effectiveness of these demonstrations, I also propose we make use of some items that serve to concurrently induce pain and pleasure on your end."

Not even wanting to think about the underlying implications to this proposal, Tatsumi fretfully shook his head. "No, I think I'm convinced this is real."

To which the Ice Queen sighed and muttered under her breath. "Oh well. Was worth a try",

"So can you tell me a little more about our job as 'champions of justice'? Maybe if you explain some things around here, it'll help me get my . . . 'memories' back a bit faster."

She nodded her head. "Gladly. As you know, I am a general of the Grand Empire. However, I am also the leader of the three champions of justice. Contrary to what you've prattled on about in regards to a so-called 'Revolutionary Army', there is no rebellion going on at the moment, much less a war. As such, our job is merely to keep the peace by protecting the Capital from evildoers and danger beasts alike."

"But what about the Prime Minister? What about all of the corruption he has spread?"

"The Prime Minister? Corruption? Utter nonsense. In fact, children often confuse him with Santa Claus, both for his girth and his benevolence."

"This is just too unreal."

"Come", Esdeath said, resting an arm over Tatsumi's shoulder. "Let us join the other two champions of justice on their daily patrol. Perhaps that will help calm your mind."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Familiar Faces_** **_. . . ._ ]**

* * *

The pair had departed from the Capital on a pair of horses; Esdeath lead and Tatsumi followed. As they galloped along the countryside, they passed a small and nearby town. Tatsumi's eyes were wondering all across the scenery. The town was actually flourishing; no signs of famine or poverty whatsoever. In fact, there even appeared to be a carnival going at the outskirts, equipped with a tall Ferris wheel and everything. He had expected it to be in a state much like his own village had been prior to the generous arrangements the Esdeath had made, having grown accustomed to dismal state villages through the empire were in as a result of the Prime Minister's antics.

None of this appeared to be out of the ordinary to the Ice Queen, however. In fact, her eyes were narrowed on the road further ahead. "Tatsumi, look!"

He averted his gaze from the town and its carnival, noticing smoke emitting out of the fort like encampment beyond the lake over yonder. "Let me guess: Bandits."

"How'd you know?"

"You once brought me to one of the hills nearby so I could watch as you had the Jaegars take them out."

"The Jaegars? Why would I . . . oh, you're still talking about your nightmare. Needless to say, you are correct about the bandits. I've received word that they're holed up in that fort over there. Strange though. It looks as if someone else beat us to them."

"The other champions of justice maybe?"

"Perhaps. We can always see for ourselves."

With a firm nod of his head, he continued to gallop behind the Ice Queen as they circled the lake to reach the other side in a roundabout fashion. As they reached the entrance to the fort, they braced the horses and hopped off. Tatsumi noticed a readily familiar face leaning up against a tree nearby, smoking a cigarette with the utmost nonchalance. What's more, her prosthetic arm was no longer damaged; it was functioning just fine.

"Najenda!", Tatsumi exclaimed, running up to the woman he knew to be his commander. "I'm so glad you're here. It's as if everything and everyone has just changed overnight. Do you have an idea of what's going on?"

Of course, Najenda simply ignored him, opting to instead remove the cigarette from her mouth and blow a plume of smoke in his face.

Tatsumi coughed and coughed as she did this. "Hey, what's the big idea here?!"

Najenda then turned her attention to the Ice Queen, continuing to disregard the haired young man in front of her. "General Esdeath, Sir Tatsumi here should not partake in missions while inebriated. I'd advise disciplining him for his impudence, but we both know that's not going to happen."

To which the Ice Queen sighed, "Tatsumi is suffering a rare neurological condition that causes temporary amnesia. He thinks the Prime Minister is evil, that you and him are part of some league of assassins called Night Raid that are using magic weapons to try and take over the Grand Empire."

"Evil prime ministers? Assassins' leagues? Magic weapons? Plots to take over the country? Sounds like he's been reading Lubbock's manga collection again."

"I didn't come here to discuss Tatsumi's reading habits. I'd be more interested in finding out what you're doing here."

"The Jaegars and I were on our way back from a mission on the Ali Jinnah border. Broke up another slave trade. We were about to head into the Capital when we came across a mess you've yet to clean up. We figured we'd do the great General Esdeath a favor."

"That's kind of you", Esdeath replied, a hint of passive aggression in her voice. "But stomping out ruffians and highwaymen near the capital is my jurisdiction. You'd be wise to remember your place in the future, General Najenda."

But true to her character, Najenda remained overtly nonchalant, sticking her cigarette back in her mouth after saying, "You're welcome."

"Wait a minute", Tatsumi said, appearing as if a light bulb had suddenly gone off in his head. "Did you say the Jaegars? YOU lead the Jaegars?"

Much to the Incursio wielder's annoyance, Najenda blew yet another puff of smoke into his face rather than indulge him with an answer. As Tatsumi began coughing yet again, two additional familiar faces appeared on the scene, both departing from inside the fort. It was Lubbock and Leone. Neither appeared to have their imperial arms on them, a fact which Tatsumi didn't seem cognizant of.

"Far out! It's Tatsumi", Leone shouted, pointing her finger in his direction as she did.

The green haired assassin was similarly intrigued. "Tatsumi? What are you doing here?"

Sensing that their comradery was still present, he ran up to his two companions. "Leone! Lubbock! Am I glad to see you! Talk some sense into Najenda here. She doesn't remember Night Raid or anything!"

Lubbock suddenly had an incredulous look in his eyes. "What the hell is Night Raid?"

And Leone began to giggle, nudging her green haired companion with her elbow as he she did. "I think he's talking about that new club down on 27th street. If General Esdeath finds outs he's been going there, she is NOT going to be happy."

Too frustrated to bother continuing the conversation, Tatsumi ran right past them, dashing through the fort's entrance as he did. " _Not them too!_ " He looked around frantically, hoping that his remaining comrade would remember everything.

But as he sprinted through a hallway, he stopped dead in his tracks, looking as if he had seen a ghost. Perhaps literally; both Chelsea and Mein were at the other end of hallway, tying up a group of unconscious bandits. Like Leone and Lubbock, neither had their imperial arms in their possession. Tatssumi, however, was more focused on the fact that they were . . . alive.

They both ceased what they were doing, having just noticed Tatsumi walk in. "Hey there", Chelsea said with the gracious wave of a hand.

Tatsumi didn't answer either of them, finding himself unable to utter any words. Instead, he ran right past them, keeping his eyes closed tightly as he continued to move. " _Don't look! Don't look! It's gotta be a trick! An illusion! Someone must be using Spectator to mess with my mind again! But who? Zank is dead!_ "

Mein rolled her eyes with her usual sense of irritation as she watched him run away. "Here we do him and his team a favor by helping them out and can't even be bothered to say hello. "Unbelievable."

Because the Incursio wielder kept running with his eyes closed, he was unable to see where he was going. Shortly thereafter, this caused him to run into something. Or rather, someone. A tall muscular fellow. Tatsumi quickly and defensively opened his eyes, expecting to see a bandit, utterly disturbed at what he saw instead. "Bulat?!"

Indeed, it was his deceased comrade and mentor standing before him. "Whoa there, Tatsumi. You can't just come barging into enemy territory with your eyes closed. C'mon bro, this is basic. Mind your surroundings. Didn't I teach you that? And what's with that look on your face?"

Tatsumi slowly took several steps back, frantically shaking his head as he did. " _This is NOT real!_ "

He took an additional step backwards, feeling the back of his neck rub up against a familiar bosom. He turned his head ever so slightly to see who he bumped into. "Sheele?!"

As expected of her, the purple haired assassin began to fret at the way Tatsumi reacted, believing it to be a result of her usual clumsiness. "Oh my. I'm so sorry! I should have said I was behind you. I didn't mean to startle you!"

He desperately looked around the room, frantically seeking to leave as soon as possible. That's when he noticed a staircase out of the corner of his eye. It led to the second floor of the fort. Being in a pure state of panic, he fled upstairs, sprinting his legs as fast as he could.

To which Bulat shouted, "Tatsumi, wait! The second floor is booby trapped!"

But the Incursio wielder didn't listen. He wanted nothing to do with these illusions haunting him. He continued to pay no attention to where he was going, his fear having taken full control over him. Said fear prevented him from even beginning to notice the floor button he had stepped on upon reaching the second floor.

At that moment, multiple cross bows mounted along the immediate second floor walls activated. Arrows subsequently came flying at him from several different directions. Still too frantic about his encounters with four people he had believed to be have been deceased, he didn't notice the danger he was in.

Luckily, a nearby individual was more than aware of said danger. Two individuals in fact. One skillfully cut down half of the flying arrows with a trusty woodcutting axe. The other shot the remaining arrows out of the air with multiple arrows of her own.

Suddenly realizing what had just occurred, Tatsumi turned his head towards this pair of individuals that had just saved his life, only to see a shocking sight again. His mouth was left hanging wide open. He didn't even bother to run or close his eyes, perhaps too mystified to bother this time. "Sayo. Ieyasu. Not you too."

"In the flesh", Ieyasu cheerfully said amidst casually slinging the handle of his axe over his right shoulder.

Unlike her axe-wielding companion, Sayo wasn't as carefree about what had just occurred. On the contrary, she looked as if she had lost her temper. "What the hell are you doing walking into obvious traps like that? Had we not been around, you would've been dead!"

"Cut him some slack", Ieyasu remarked with a big grin on his face. "Don't you remember what the commander told us while Tatsumi was at the hospital this morning? His bad dreams gave him amnesia."

But the feisty young woman would hear none of it. "Amnesia has to do with losing your memories, not your brain cells! What Tatsumi just did was just dumb, amnesia or not!"

Tatsumi reactively shook his head, pushing himself out of his daze. Determined to get away from what he believed to be a continued effort to mess with his mind, he turned away and started to make a run for it down the second floor hall.

Though as Tatsumi tried to peddle even ten feet, Ieyasu dropped his axe and leaped towards his childhood friend, promptly tackling him to the floor before he could escape. The assassin aggressively struggled to break free of his friend's hold, but Ieyasu held him firm. "Hey, what's the matter with you, Tatsumi?!"

"Cut him some slack. His bad dreams gave him amnesia", said Sayo, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"You're not real! Neither of you are real!", the Night Raid assassin growled while continuing to struggle.

Sayo walked closer to the struggling pair and crouched down next to them, her eyes focused on Tatsumi's. She sighed as her demeanor suddenly shifted from tempered to methodical. "Lets say you're right and we aren't real. That we really died and that you are part of some group of assassins called night raid. Care to explain what's happening right now?"

"Yeah!", Tatsumi muttered. "This is all an illusion. A while back, I met a guy whose imperial arm gave him the power to create illusions, so that has to be what's going on!"

"I see. And how long did that illusion last?"

"About . . . thirty seconds." Tatsumi suddenly had a dumbstruck look on his face. As if a thought had occurred to him, he began to question the possibility that he was experiencing some grand illusion.

Sayo wasn't finished with her line of questioning just yet. "Were you particularly important in that dream of yours? What does someone have to gain in trapping you in an illusion this long?"

Tatsumi remained dumbstruck. He recalled how Zanku had used his illusions to lure him away from Akame, but all this transpired over a relatively short amount of time. Even if someone else had obtained the imperial arm known as 'Spectator', he couldn't imagine anyone in the entire empire who could possibly have a reason to trap him in this sort of illusion for the amount of time he had been experiencing in. The more he thought about it, even the notion that Spectator had the ability to cast illusions as elaborate as this began to fall apart as Zanku surely would've made use of such powers during his duel with Akame. "Okay . . . maybe this isn't an illusion. But it could still be a dream!"

"No offense, Tatsumi", Ieyasu said, still keeping his childhood friend pinned to the ground. "But a world with magic weapons and secret leagues of assassins seems like the stuff dreams are made of."

Sayo nodded her head in agreement. "Think about it. Why did you never hear about the Revolutionary Army until you joined Night Raid? If things like imperial arms exist, why did you never hear of them until you joined this group called 'Night Raid? Don't you think everybody would know about these things?"

Tatsumi searched the depths of his mind for an answer, but couldn't think of one. Sayo's point was logical. The Revolutionary Army was a widespread movement, but he had never even heard of it until he had stepped foot in the Capital. And surely weapons as supernatural and powerful as imperial arms would be known throughout the entire empire; especially if these weapons were used to bring the country to prominence in the first place. Could it be, he wondered. Could all of his adventures with Night Raid merely have been a dream?

He pondered on the subject some more, but gradually grew more welcoming of Sayo's logic. Not just because it made sense, but in a way, he wanted it to make sense. After all, this world was astronomically preferable to the world he had grown accustomed to in what he was now believing to have been a bad dream.

Feeling no more struggle, Ieyasu promptly released Tatsumi from his grasp, helping him back onto his feet. Sayo stood back up as well. Both couldn't help but notice a sudden change in their childhood friend's demeanor. His confusion was gone; it was replaced by a pure sense of relief; he looked as if a life-long burden had been lifted off his shoulders. For one reason another, his doubts swiftly abandoned him. As if he were happy to learn that the last year of his life was a lie.

Unable to put what he was feeling into words, Tatsumi did the only thing he felt he could do. Shedding a tear, he threw both of his arms around both Sayo and Ieyasu, squeezing them both to the best of his ability.

"Hey, easy easy", Sayo remarked, noting the tightness of her friend's embrace.

Ieyasu chuckled. "I think it's safe to say he's back to normal."

After a what felt like a minute, Tatsumi loosened his arms and released the pair from his grasp. His emotions had settled down, but he was still gleeful nonetheless. To think that after all this time, his two childhood friends who may as well have been siblings did not in fact die. That their deaths were merely the product of a bad dream. "Sorry guys. I guess I got a little carried away."

"It's alright", Sayo responded, letting out a brief sigh. "As much as it pains me to admit it, either of us might have acted that way too if we were in your situation. I'm just glad you're back to normal. Your memories have returned, right?"

Tatsumi shook his head. "I still don't remember anything, but if it's as Esdeath said, I guess everything should come back to me by the end of the day."

"Champions of justice, front and center!", said a commanding voice making its way up the nearby stairway.

Both Sayo and Ieyasu reverently kneeled to the ground in the direction of the stairway, whereas Tatsumi appeared to be oblivious. He looked to see the Ice Queen making her way up the stairs, only to suddenly recall the Three Beasts as well as the extent to which they were loyal to Esdeath.

The Ice Queen seriously gazed upon both of her kneeling subordinates. "Have the bandits been taken care of?"

"They've been beaten", Sayo responded.

Ieyasu eagerly nodded his head. "They won't be troubling anyone any longer."

"Be that as it may, it was achieved as a result of the Jaegars meddling, leaving us with little else to do at the moment. I suppose we could go on another danger beast raid."

"Commander", Sayo prompted, sounding as if an idea had occurred to her. "Forgive me if I'm out of place, but if we do something less strenuous, perhaps it will help in helping Tatsumi recover from his condition."

"Are you suggesting hunting danger beasts is strenuous?", Esdeath inquired, looking as if she took some slight offense to her subordinate's comment.

"Umm no!", the bow wielding champion of justice nervously said in response, realizing she may have indirectly spoken ill of an activity the general was passionate about. "I'm simply suggesting that Tatsumi might be more receptive to something else."

"Such as the carnival!", Ieyasu shouted with excitement in his eyes.

Esdeath then shifted her eyes to Tatsumi, wishing to know what he thought of this idea. "Well Tatsumi, it's up to you. Go to the carnival or hunt danger beasts?"

Just the look on the Night Raid assassin's face alone was priceless. It was much like the look he had on his face the day he was announced as the winner of the combat tournament he had met Esdeath at. His look perhaps mirrored the look of a child whose parents had just told him he'd be going to the amusement park of a certain fictional mouse character. "Lets go to the carnival!"

To which the Ice Queen dreamily blushed at the sight of this, quickly regaining her composure. "How could I say no to that face?"

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Sleeping Dragon_** **_. . . ._ ]**

* * *

Esdeath and her three champions of justice made their way over to the nearby town where the carnival was currently going on at. As they arrived, Tatsumi couldn't help but gape in awe at the lively atmosphere; the games, the rides, the food and the carnival background music; it was much to take in for the young assassin. The reason for his excitement made ample sense; as one who had grown up in a small village up in the mountains, he had never really been given the opportunity to enjoy himself in such a setting. All he had known after leaving his village was the corruption in the Capital and his work as an assassin.

There was a ticket booth at the entrance with a ticket vendor charging all guests a small fee for admission. Upon seeing Esdeath and the three champions of justice approach the booth, however, the vendor cheerfully said "Free of charge!" before handing each of them a ticket and letting them in.

They each walked through the carnival gates, Ieyasu immediately taking notice of the strongman competition a couple of yards forward. The carnival game was no different than the standard way this game was played: Use the mallet to hit the lever at the base of the tower hard enough to make the adjacent puck fly up and ding the bell at the top.

"Step right up!", said the carnival worker standing next to the device. "Ding the bell and win a prize!"

Ieyasu eagerly grabbed the mallet off the ground. "I've got this! This should be just about as easy as chopping wood." With a huff and puff, he swung the blunt instrument down to the lever below. Upon doing this, the puck leaped high up the tower. But to the axe-wielder's dismay, it only went half-way towards the top, well short of dinging the bell.

A sight Sayo found amusing. "I thought you said you had this!"

"Hey! That was just a warm up!"

But the carnival worker shook his head. "Everyone only gets one try, kid. Next!"

Tatsumi eagerly raised his hand. "Let me take a crack at that!" He grabbed the mallet from his fellow champion of justice, intent upon trying to succeed where the other young man had failed. "You were using sheer brute strength, but this game is more about technique." His eyes narrowly focused on the lever below him, Tatsumi diligently swung the mallet downwards in one swift motion, causing the puck to leap high up the tower once more. Though alas, he was immediately dismayed at the results of his efforts, for the puck only went half-way towards the top yet again, still well short of dinging the bell.

Not only did Sayo laugh at the sight of this, but Ieyasu as well, prompting him to even mockingly comment. "Some technique you've got there!"

"I'm not warmed up yet either!", Tatsumi fumed.

"Everyone only gets one shot, kid", the carnival worker said once again. "Next!"

Esdeath seized the mallet out of Tatsumi's hands and stood directly in front of the device. She lifted the blunt instrument into the air, it's head hovering over her back. Then, with the swiftness of a falling star, she smashed the mallet into the lever beneath her. The puck leapt high up the tower once more. But unlike the previous two efforts, a ding was immediately heard afterwards.

The carnival worker immediately proceeded to hand the general a large oversized air manta plush doll. With a victorious smirk on her lips, she handed the prize to Tatsumi, who appeared to be dumbfounded as to how she succeeded where both he and Ieyasu had failed. "How'd you do that?"

"You were right to point out the importance of technique, but if your techniques don't have the proper amount of strength behind them, there is little point in using them. It's not enough to have a strong body just as it's not enough to have a strong mind. A warrior must train both their mind and body to the limit. When the limit isn't enough, they must evolve and go beyond."

" _She's just as combat savvy as the Esdeath I knew_ ", Tatsumi thought, impressed with the general's insight.

They continued to tour the carnival, making sure to play every carnival game they crossed, most of which Esdeath proved herself to be skilled in. They also road just about every ride, from the bumper cars, to a high speed merry-go-round, to a mechanical pirate ship that steadily rotates back and forth until eventually moving in a 360 degree arc, to a drop tower that continually carries its riders up to the top of a large vertical structure only to let them continually free fall to the bottom before accelerating.

The minute they got off that last ride, Ieyasu was looking rather queasy. Something Sayo readily took notice of. "You two go on ahead", she said, her eyes directed towards Tatsumi and her commander. "I'll take care of this guy."

"N-no, I can go on, just give me a mom-uaaaaaaaaahhhhh." The axe-wielding champion of justice simply couldn't contain the contents of whatever he had eaten prior to getting on that last ride.

Sayo rolled her eyes, "Fried oysters on a stick covered in butter and barbeque sauce. Brilliant."

Tatsumi, who appeared to be in very high spirits, merely shrugged his shoulders. "Okay. We'll be back."

Having paid little attention to Ieyasu's plight, Esdeath opted to get some cotton candy, blue in color, on a stick from a nearby snack stand. Then, alongside Tatsumi, they walked towards that nearest ride they had yet to get on: The tall ferris wheel he had noticed while they had been galloping past the town earlier. As soon as they had made their way to the front of the line, they got inside their passenger pod and sat by one another side by side. Once they were secured in, the ride proceeded to start.

"Having fun?", the Ice Queen asked in-between nibbling on her cotton candy.

To which he cheerfully answered, "Are you kidding? This is the most fun I've ever had! Back in my village, I only heard stories about places like this."

"We can come to places like this a lot more often if you like."

"Won't that get in the way of our jobs as champions of justice?"

"The Grand Empire is so peaceful that I doubt it would make a difference if excursions like these were properly scheduled."

Tatsumi's cheerful expression steadily grew warmer; more understanding. "Are you having fun?"

"Seeing you so happy is more than enough to make me happy, Tatsumi."

"I know how much you like hunting danger beasts. We can also go hunt danger beasts during these excursions instead if you want."

"There's no need, Tatsumi. I know you aren't anywhere near as fond of hunting as I am."

"Yeah, but I guess . . .". A light blush began to appear on the young man's cheeks. "Seeing you so happy kind of makes me happy as well."

"Tatsumi . . ." The Ice Queen appeared to be taken aback; these were no doubt words she didn't expect to hear.

"To be honest, up until now, I never really understood what my feelings towards you were. In my dream, you had done so many bad things, you were so intimidating and you always came across as being larger than life. But seeing you like this, I think I finally get why despite all of that. . . I ended up falling in love with you."

Hearing these words, Esdeath dropped her cotton candy to the floor of the passenger pod they were in. Before Tatsumi even knew it, her lips were pressed against his and his head was cradled in her hands. A gesture the Night Raid assassin was perhaps uncomfortable with in the past, but was now more than welcoming, closing his eyes and passionately returning this display of affection upon realizing what was going on.

The two stayed in this position without regard to the Ferris wheel making its rotation, leading them both to miss out on the impeccable view that could be perceived from being at the very top. The carnival worker operating the ride took note of the two lovebirds, opting to allow them to remain on the ride for another rotation as opposed to telling them to get off.

For Tatsumi, nothing else seemed to matter at the moment. This blissful moment. Nothing at all. And yet as the moment continued, something blipped in the back of his mind. He took note of this brief blip, but didn't let it stop him from what he was doing. The blip occurred again, lasting slightly longer than the last, but Tatsumi promptly disregarded it, refocusing all of his attention on Esdeath. The blip occurred a third time, this time causing him to open his eyes in fret. The blip . . . it was the sight of Akame. The sight of one his closest friends on the verge of drowning at the bottom of a lake. Seeing this image in his mind, he promptly broke the kiss and pushed the Ice Queen away.

"What's wrong?", she asked, deeply concerned.

"You're not real", he responded, his tone of voice cross and certain.

She chuckled. "That again? Just give it some time. Once your memories have returned, you'll-"

"Cut the crap. Before I came to this fake world, I was at the bottom of a lake with Akame"

"A fake world? Didn't Sayo and Ieyasu go over that with you? Are you really saying this world sounds more fake than world with magic weapons and secret armies you never heard about in your village?"

"And yet I specifically did not encounter Akame at the bandit hideout earlier. Why do you think that is?"

Esdeath shrugged her shoulders. "You didn't encounter Susanoo either. You'll have to ask General Najenda why. Maybe they're out sick this week."

"Su was my friend, but he's also an imperial arm. I've seen no sight of imperial arms in this world and you're the first to mention Su. When you think about it, it makes sense. Imperial arms have helped caused most of the destruction throughout the empire and have made it much easier for the Prime Minister to do his dirty work. If they didn't exist, there might never have been a need for Night Raid. And a world without a need for Night Raid is a world I've wanted ever since becoming member. But it doesn't just stop there. I've wanted a lot of other things too, such as for all my friends to be alive, for the Capital to be free of corruption and for you to give up your murderous ways. It's almost as if this world were created just for me."

"That's absurd."

"But it does go to answer your question. A world where magic weapons and secret armies I've never heard about exist sounds a lot more likely than a world where everything works the way I'd want it to work."

"Assuming any of that is true, what does it have to do with your friend Akame?"

"When I last saw Akame, she and I were about to drown at the bottom of a lake. Being reminded of this would make it much easier for me to come to my senses and realize that this world was fake, wouldn't it?"

To which the Ice Queen sighed. "Let us suppose this world is in fact fake. What difference does it make? You're happy here, aren't you?"

"I won't ever abandon my friends, especially just so I can live in a world that isn't even real."

"Stop and think about this, Tatsumi. Have you any idea how many people have died throughout human history? What makes your friends so special? They will die eventually, one way or another. As will everyone in the Grand Empire. What difference does it really make? Here you are presented with an opportunity no other mortal is presented with; an opportunity others can only dream of having. The opportunity to truly be happy. You would give that up?"

"I would and I am!" The young assassin quickly hopped out of the passenger pod and descended to the ground. Fortunately for him, it happened to be hovering a mere 20 feet above the ground at the time. Determined to escape this world by any means possible, he began to make a run for it back towards the carnival's entrance.

But like an apparition, Esdeath suddenly manifested herself in front of him. "Then so be it."

Tatsumi felt a sudden shiver down his spine. He thought he had imagined it at first, but he couldn't help but notice that a masculine voice had been speaking in complete unison with the Ice Queen's just then; dual voices coming out of her mouth. What's more, he noticed the silhouette of a ravenous draconic danger beast behind her. The beast had no wings and possessed four glowing red eyes, each with cross shaped black pupils. The Night Raid assassin did feel traces of fear in the back of his mind, but quickly brushed it aside, intent upon standing his ground. "Are you the tyrant?"

"The Tyrant has been dead for over a thousand years. I am its essence; I am what you call "Incursio."

"Where are we?"

"We are deep within the depths of your subconscious. Here, time flows differently. Thus, although you may think we've been in here for 14 hours, only 5.48 seconds have passed in the real world."

"Why are we here?"

"I brought you here because you are attempting to obtain what you humans call 'perfect sync.' The one you call Najenda wants you to take full control of my power, but she doesn't understand what this means."

"Yeah? And what does it mean?"

"Perfect sync is not merely a matter of you obtaining my power. It's a matter of your soul becoming fused with mine. Once this occurs, there is no going back. Your soul will be forever bound to mine and mine to yours. Wherever your soul goes, mine will follow."

"Well if that's what it takes to defeat the Prime Minister, I'll do it."

"But I am not willing to make such a decision so easily. To bind my soul to yours is a sacrifice of astronomical proportions. When you die, I shall die as well. To make a sacrifice of that magnitude, I require much more than basic compatibility."

"What do you require?"

"The only kind of soul I will allow to be bound with mine is one that possesses a comparable life-force. One that can hold together no matter what comes its way; one that can evolve. A soul like that would have been able to see through the false reality I subjected you to."

"Then my soul is good enough, right?"

"No."

"What?", Tatsumi asked, knowing full well that he had indeed seen through Incursio's deceit.

"You were only able to realize the truth because of your wish to immediately save the one you call Akame. If not for that, you would have surely spent the remainder of your life within this false world by your own choice. You aren't the first to try and claim my power. Of the hundreds who have attempted this ritual over the past thousand years, every single one has failed. Not one soul was strong enough to evolve beyond the temptation of their own desires."

"You're going to say I failed your little test because I wanted to save my friend? That's the whole reason I ended up in this situation in the first place. How is that fair?"

"You're face to face with death, Tatsumi. Since when has death ever been fair?"

"Fine!", he snarled. "Send me back to the real world. I'll find a way to save Akame without your help!"

"No. You were limited to two choices: Death or evolution. You failed to evolve and you'll certainly die should you return to the real world."

"I said let me out!" But Tatsumi received no answer to his demand. Instead, the tyrant silhouette let out a deafening roar and a strong gust of hurricane like winds blew the assassin hundreds of feet away like a ragdoll.

Determined to escape this world, he hurriedly regained his footing, only to realize that the winds were still blaring at him with such strength and force that he couldn't muster even one step in Incursio's direction. That wasn't the only anomaly however. Cracks were literally forming in the skies and the ground was shaking back and forth. Much of the carnival and even the town was beginning to collapse.

Realizing the gravity of what he was up against, the Night Raid assassin stood there petrified. He had no idea what he was going to do. How he was going to escape this world, how he was going to save Akame or anyone else. He yet again began to wonder if he was yet again going to let everyone down.

As these thoughts raced throughout his mind, the sound of a familiar voice pierced the young man's ears. "Long time no see, Tatsumi."

Tatsumi turned his head towards to the direction this voice was coming from, surprised to see the interior of a bar right next to him; there was a bar table and several barstools. Sitting on one of the barstools was . . . "Klaus?!"

It was indeed the late Bestimmung ambassador and he was in his usual jovial spirits sipping on a mug of beer. "What are you doing standing around like you got your balls cut off? You're not dead yet you know."

"Klaus. Is that really you? You're not just another one of Incursio's illusions, are you?"

He set his mug down upon the bar table and looked upon the young assassin directly. "When you saw Bulat that time you were in a rut with Budo, was that one of Incursio's illusions?"

"But you and Bulat are dead."

"We're still alive to you; your memories of us still live on in your subconscious. Just now, you cried out for my help."

Feeling the sensation of guilt creep back up on him, Tatsumi averted his eyes away the Bestimmung ambassador, "Klaus, I don't mean this the wrong way, but you're the last person I'd want to think about right now."

Ambassador Hartmann suddenly took on a more serious tone. "I know. But ever since you've left Bestimmung, you've been constantly thinking about me. Especially now that you know that I died for nothing."

"Klaus . . . I . . ."

"I know your thoughts. I know them well. You may have told Najenda that you were ready to do this and Akame that you would keep your promise to her, but no one has any idea what's really going on in your head. No one does. Your guilt. And now your self-loathing. The other night, you even caught yourself wishing that Sayo or Ieyasu had survived in your steed to ease your pain."

"I didn't ask for this!", Tatsumi exclaimed, referring to all the troubles all the troubles life had brought him since venturing out to the Capital. "I didn't ask for any of it!"

"No, you didn't. You came to the Capital for no reason other than to raise some money for your village. You had no idea you were going to lose your two closest friends. You had no idea you were going to lose even more friends. You had no idea about the wars or revolutions in the works. You had no idea you were going to become a murderer. All of this was thrown upon you while you were just a naïve lad. But no one ever asks for the parts of their life they don't like, Tatsumi.

"I didn't have a choice."

"You've always had a choice, boy. You chose to come to the Capital. You chose to become a member of Night Raid. You chose to become an assassin. You chose to kill me. And you chose to allow Akame to be placed in danger alongside you. You may not like it, but you've chosen a great deal."

"But I did all of those things believing they were for the greater good!"

"Aye, they were each done out of good intentions, but good intentions alone aren't enough to justify a decision. One common theme I notice in all of your good intentions is that they are always the product of what someone else has told you. You came to the Capital alongside your closest friends because that's what your village elder told you to do."

"If we hadn't done anything, everyone would've eventually starved!"

"So why didn't he send the experienced warriors to go? Why did he send three naive children who knew nothing of the world outside the village?"

The young assassin's eyes grew even more distraught than they had already been. He looked as if he were recalling a repressed memory. "Because . . . Elder Choro believed the more experienced warriors were needed in the village."

Klaus took another swig out from his glass before setting it back down. "Or to put it another way, he believed three orphan children were expendable. You may not want to hear it, but that's the reality of the situation. You didn't question him at the time; you blindly went along with him, believing he knew what was best. Just as you blindly went along with Leone when she swindled you out of your money, despite her being a total stranger at the time. Just as you blindly went along with that Aria girl who turned out to be a mass murderer, despite knowing nothing about her. Just as you blindly went along with your mission to assassinate me, despite believing I was a good man. You blindly stopped Esdeath from seeking out the omega class danger beast, Hastur; an idea you knew to be full proof. You decided to delay her just so you could go get permission from Night Raid. Do you see the pattern here, Tatsumi? You almost always choose to blindly follow other people's lead even when it's to your detriment."

Hearing all of this laid out for him, the Incursio wielder was taken aback; he was at a loss of words. It was as if someone had opened his brain like a briefcase, only to pull a detailed list of all of his character flaws and read them aloud. Only he had never even considered his prior actions in this light. He had always focused on the consequences of his decisions, never having actually considered what lead him to make these decisions in the first place. "I . . . I get it. Nothing has changed since I've come to the Capital. I'm still the naïve child I was when I first stepped foot here."

"But you're so much more! Ever since you've come to the capital, you've become a remarkable warrior. Don't forget that you were the one who defeated general Budo. Bulat has given you all the tools you need to evolve your body. It's your mind that needs to evolve and you already know what you need to do to evolve it."

"I need to stop following other people's lead."

"It's not Elder Choro's life nor is it Night Raid's, my boy. It's yours! Don't forget what I told you at the campfire that time: What truly matters in life is how you choose to live it. So choose. No matter what anyone else tells you, start choosing for yourself!"

Tatsumi gave a reluctant nod. "Yes . . . I must."

The Bestimmung ambassador suddenly pointed to something right next to the young assassin's left leg before saying, "Then prove it!"

Tatsumi looked down to see what Klaus was pointing out, only to see the ambassador's obsidian bladed claymore embedded in the ground. As if instinctively knowing what to do, he reached for the hilt with his left hand. As he pulled at it, it wouldn't come out; it was slow to budge.

"You were quick to believe in Incursio's illusions because you didn't want to accept the truth. That all of your pain and suffering had been a result of your unwillingness to take charge of your life!"

Showing ample strain, the young assassin continued to pull at the blade, mustering it out of the ground centimeter by centimeter.

"Take control and deal with life's burdens on your own terms!"

The Night Raid member began to strenuously pull at the claymore's handle with both of his hands.

"Take control, Tatsumi! Stop letting other people tell you what to do! Show initiative!"

The sword began to budge out of the ground at a faster pace. Tatsumi all but had it.

"That sword there is your life! Your roaring soul! At long last, pull it out of the ground and take control! Its wielder is you and no one else! Use it!"

"I WILL!", Tatsumi cried out, thunderously ripping the blade out of the ground at long last.

Klaus gazed upon the young man, smirking with pride as he did. "How does it feel?"

"It feels . . . heavier than what I'm used to", Tatsumi remarked, holding the hilt of the claymore with both hands. His eyes curiously wondered over the blade portion, surveying every detail of the instrument that was said to be his life.

"Good. Now use it."

With a firm and resolved nod of the head, he clenched the blade's hilt ever so tightly and looked in Incursio's direction. Esdeath, or rather the form Incursio had manifested was still standing alongside the Tyrant silhouette, as if to patiently wait and see what Tatsumi intended to do next. All the while, the sky continued to crack, the ground continued to shake, the silhouette continued to roar and the hurricane winds continued to blow.

But despite the troubling extent of these anomalies throughout the area, Tatsumi's demeanor had changed. They no longer appeared to concern him, much less cause him any hesitation, much less even register as a minor annoyance. He walked through the winds, no longer affected by them. He walked through the roaring, his ears unfazed.

It wasn't long until the assassin was standing within ten yards of the Tyrant silhouette and the Esdeath manifestation. His full attention upon the pair, he readily slipped into a striking stance, appearing intent upon cutting down the target in front of him. The Esdeath manifestation remained unworried, content to see what the Night Raid member would do next.

The next several moments were defined purely by the sounds that accompanied them. Indeed, the sound of a sword plunging through flesh could be heard.

It was at this point that the Esdeath manifestation could be heard asking a question. "I see. Is this the sort of soul I am to merge with? Will this be your evolution? Is this the path you have chosen, Tatsumi?"

"Yes. This is the person I choose to become."

"Then that will do, Tatsumi; that will suffice."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Asleep no more . . . ._ ]**

* * *

Back in the real world, Najenda, Leone and Lubbock were all still standing atop the cliff, waiting to see what would happen next. It had been a few minutes since both Tatsumi and Akame had fallen in.

Lubbock began removing his jacket and taking off his shirt. "That's it! I'm going in after them!"

But Najenda held her hand out, gesturing for her green haired subordinate to stop, noting a series of air bubbles rising up to the lake's surface. "Wait."

At the very next moment, it looked as if a rocket without any exhaust zipped right out of the water. Of course, the 'rocket' itself looked like a blur. The blur not only fired itself out of the water, but also scaled its way up the cliff, vertically zigzagging its way to the top before landing next to Najenda.

"Tatsumi?", Leone asked, surprised to see her companion having suddenly appeared in the fashion that he did. " _Is Akame even that fast_?"

The Incursio wielder was crouched down, with an unconscious Akame having been slung over his right shoulder. He had to have holding onto her while scaling up the cliff in the speedy fashion that he did. In what was a display that almost seemed angelic, he gently set her down before standing upright on his feet.

Lubbock observed his companion in awe, never having witnessed such a sight throughout his entire life. Perhaps more unnerving was that it was Tatsumi he was looking at. " _Eerie_ _cross-shaped black pupils and red eyes. Just as Chelsea described that one time. But it doesn't look like they're glowing and he's not wearing his armor._ "

Najenda walked up to Tatsumi, fearlessly looking at him eye to eye. "You didn't die, so I can only assume you've evolved. Does that mean you're ready for the next phase of the mission?"

"No", Tatsumi replied, the tone of his voice ever so calm and certain.

Both Lubbock and Leone appeared shocked at their answer their comrade had just given, always having known him as always being ready to leap forward to any mission he was assigned. The usual Tatsumi would've most certainly given a spirited yes, but this Tatsumi was different somehow.

Nevertheless, Najenda maintained her composure, appearing unfazed by Tatsumi's startling answer. "I see. Do you still intend to participate in the mission?"

To which the Incursio wielder replied, the look in his eyes remaining call and certain. "I will participate, but only on my terms."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Prelude: Kill the End Game . . . ._ ]**

* * *

Five days had come and gone since Tatsumi emerged seemingly reborn from the bottom of the cliffside lake. The sun was on the verge of setting in the capital and business was as usual in the imperial throne room. The Prime Minister was nibbling on a plate full of cinnamon buns, Syura was standing on the opposite side of his father with his arms crossed and the emperor was blissfully sitting on his throne with his scepter, blissfully unaware of what was about to occur.

"Your majesty!", cried one of the imperial court's officials, running into the throne room with a rolled up parchment clenched in one of his hands. "We're under attack!"

"What are you babbling about?", Honest asked, his attention, as usual, divided by his overwhelming appetite. "The Revolutionary Army is finished. Who would be foolish enough to attack the Capital?"

"Not too long ago, a guard . . . he found this flyer nailed onto the palace's front doors!"

"A flyer, eh?", the Prime Minister said, twirling his beard with curiosity. "Well don't just stand there. Read to us what it says."

The official fretfully nodded his head, unrolled the parchment he had been holding and began to read aloud, "Dear Emperor Makoto, please be advised that we will be raiding your palace tonight at 7:00 pm and that you personally will be targeted for assassination. If you do not wish to be targeted tonight, please deposit the severed head of Prime Minister Honest on the steps of your palace's front doors and all will be forgiven. Otherwise, we will be paying you a visit within the hour. Best regards, Night Raid."

* * *

 **A/N:** Alright folks, that was the chapter I've been wanting to write since this fic started. I imagine there are ways it could've been better executed, but this chapter highlights one of the many problems I had with the original. Tatsumi never really had a meaningful character arc and his character flaws kind of just get glossed over at some point. Manga/Anime Tatsumi is more or less Ichigo from Bleach. I hate to say it, but he's two dimensional. Hence, I sought to flesh out our main character. He was naive early on. He was also bit too willing to go along with others. I'm aware the author skirts around having to discuss any moral ambiguity regarding Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army in the original (we get some talk about them being murderers in the beginning, but it's all clear sailing afterwards), but I really think there ought've come a point where Tatsumi's willingness to throw aside his morals and join this organization was seriously discussed. I'm not saying joining Night Raid was the "wrong" decision to make, but it's such a missed opportunity in terms of what the author could've used to give his main character some actual character depth.

I've also changed a lot of things regarding Incursio, but I guess that won't be absolutely clear until the next chapter where things really really get interesting! ;)

Some will read this chapter and say "Wait a minute! This chapter sounds an awful lot like Tokyo Ghoul!", but I will assure you that it's coincidental. In fact, there's actually an entire trope page geared towards characters talking with dead characters prior to their crowning moment of awesome. If I recall, even the AkG anime sort of did this with Tatsumi in the 23rd episode. That said, I give props to the particular scenes from Tokyo Ghoul I am alluding to as they are very great examples of this trope.

Anyways, three more chapters to go! Love it? Hate it? Meh? Lemme know what you think! As always, I appreciate your thoughts, both constructive and positive! Trolling too, provided you're at least clever about it! ;) As always, thanks for reading!


	15. Kill the End Game - Part One

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 **A/N:** We've once again made our way to another new chapter! My apologies about the delay! I've pretty much been done with this chapter since the beginning of August, but there are a few things here and there that have kept me from releasing it. I've been pretty indecisive about certain elements of the fights. Be warned, this is a long chapter (15,000 words by my count), but unlike chapter 6, is pretty action packed throughout. Hopefully, the subsection titles are useful enough to allow you to read at your own leisure.

Just read the latest chapter of AKG. Can guarantee you my ending is not going to be anything like what we're seeing there. I really don't like the idea of Esdeath being Akame's final opponent. It just seems so much more fitting for it to be Tatsumi, given their history. Oh well.

As always, thanks for your support, readers! And awwwwwwaaaaay we go!

* * *

 _ **Episode 28: Kill the End Game: Part One**_

Within the imperial throne room, many gasps were heard in response to the flyer the frantic court official had been ordered to read. Countless whispers quickly followed, primarily concerning Night Raid's boldness in informing the emperor of their intent to assassinate him as well as the fact that they'd even attempt such a mission now that the Revolutionary Army had been eradicated.

"What could they be playing at?", the Prime Minister wondered, still rubbing the whiskers on his beard. "There can't be any more than ten of them at this point. A direct attack on the capital with their pathetic numbers is suicide."

Syura, on the other hand, sniggered at the shocking news that had just been uttered. "Perhaps they ARE feeling suicidal, old man. Maybe they're hoping to go out in one final blaze of glory. I say we give it to them, minus the glory of course."

Emperor Makoto was surprisingly calm, despite the stated threat on his life just now. He turned to his most trusted adviser. "Night Raid can't be serious about this, can they? If so, how should we respond?"

The gluttonous prime minister sported a devilish smirk, the wheels in his head having been turning ever since hearing this plot of an assassination. He turned to face all of the officials in the room, acting as if he were the one in command. "It has occurred to me that my son is most correct. It's obvious that they are dismayed about their humiliating failure down south and are looking to make up for it with their lives. I say we grant their request. Man all the soldiers we have outside the palace gates and near every exterior entrance. See to it that no one breaches the palace walls; kill anyone who dares try. Maintain this position until his majesty says otherwise."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Clash_** **_. . . ._ ]**

* * *

Shortly after the Prime Ministers command, thousands of battle ready imperial soldiers were rushing to the palace gates. To an observer, it would be like watching ants mobilizing out of a thick ant hill after a child prodded it with a stick. Soldiers were swarming around all of the palace's exterior entrances with such numbers; little wonder that Najenda's father had felt the need to raise an entire army before conceiving any plans to challenge them.

Even so, there was an air duct, 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall, hovering two stories above the palace's front doors. The duct's exterior was covered by a grated vent. Behind the vent was none other than a crouched Leone who was watching the soldiers down below with much amusement. "It's just as you said they'd do, boss! They're all scrambling to keep us out, having no idea that we're already in."

Lubbock was present as well, less focused on what the soldiers outside were doing and more focused on crawling further inside the air duct. "If for some reason they all come back inside the palace, we're toast."

Akame was ahead of Lubbock, but crawling in the same direction. "We'll see to it that that doesn't happen."

In front of the pack was none other than Najenda herself, who had a metallic cylinder strapped to her prosthetic arm; evidently the replacement for the prosthetic hand Esdeath had destroyed during their last encounter. "Just remember: Stick to the plan at all times. Follow it to the letter; not a single deviation."

And so the assassins ventured through the air duct, tipping off no one to their presence. It was a long and dust ridden journey, but they eventually reached a proverbial fork in the road; there was a point at which the duct split off into two different directions.

Najenda ceased crawling before taking a good look at the two paths before her. "Good. We've reached the split off point in Chelsea's diagram."

Leone sighed. "So this is me and Akame's cue to skidoo, huh? Awe and here I was hoping to get a chance to at least get a peek at our coffee haired companion in action. After these last five days, there's no telling what he can do now."

"Coffee haired companion?", Lubbock jeered with the raise of an eyebrow. "Who the heck talks like that?"

"You know! Our coffee haired swordsman? Our coffee haired assassin? Do I need to spell it out?"

He scoffed. "Yes! Yes you do! Never say that again! Just call him Tatsumi, damnit!"

"If you two do your jobs and this mission is a success, you can bicker back and forth all you like", Najenda remarked, rolling her eyes. "Right now, focus on the task at hand!"

"You hear that, Akame?", Leone snickered. "The boss lady is getting snippy! We'd best make a move on, unlike SOME people."

"What's that supposed to mean?", Lubbock growled.

"Oh I think you know", Leone said with a wink before crawling her way into the left duct.

Akame followed suit, briefly turning her head to say "Be careful you two" before taking the left path as well.

Naturally, this left the other two assassins with no other place to go than the right path. They traipsed forth, perhaps a total of 200 descending yards before reaching a dead end. Another grated vent was all that blocked the pair. Najenda peered through it, ascertaining whether there was anyone immediately outside.

On the other side of the vent was a wide open area the size of a football field. It was the palace courtyard; an enclosed ceiling-free luxurious area that greatly resembled a miniature park. Seeing no one around, the Night Raid commander kicked the vent off its hinges, jumped out from within the air duct and landed on the ground.

Lubbock did the same thereafter, taking a moment to look around upon regaining his footing. He couldn't help but notice several multi-story statues of the Prime Minister's likeness towering throughout the area. "Score one for bad taste."

Najenda began walking towards a set of stairs on the other side of the courtyard, noting that there was an open set of double doors at the top of them leading back into the palace. "That's not even the worst of it. When I was still a general, Honest had been talking about plans to have a monument of his likeness erected in every town and village throughout the empire and that everyone be made to pay tribute to these monuments or else face public execution."

Lubbock followed her, continuing the conversation as he walked alongside his commander. "It's as if all that fat tub of lard knows is causing other people pain and suffering."

"Indeed. Seeing someone like him in power was what finally pushed my father far enough to 'reinterpret' some of his own teachings and use his influence to begin starting a rebellion."

Hearing his commander say this gave Lubbock some pause; hearing her mention her father dredged up sudden thoughts of what she had ordered him to do during that dreadful night at the Revolutionary Army base. She had wanted him to take her father, leave the island and use the organizations funds to restore the Lord's mental health. She may have been a sharp and taciturn tactician, but she was still a human being; she still had a heart. All of the sudden, Lubbock was reminded of his own heart.

Noticing that she wasn't hearing the sound of her subordinate's footsteps, Najenda paused as well, shirking her head back with some slight annoyance. "This is not the time to dawdle, Lubbock. Don't forget that you've got a job to do."

"Hey Miss Najenda", he said, averting his eyes away from her.

"What?"

"Don't get me wrong here. When it comes to strategy, you don't really have an equal; you're the best. So I don't doubt for a minute that your tactics will win us the day here . . ."

She sighed, sensing that he had more to say. "There's a 'but', isn't there?"

A reluctant smile appeared on Lubbock's face; not an ordinary smile by any means, but one with a hint of guised melancholy behind it. "First it was Sheele, then it was Bulat, then it was Chelsea, then it was Su and then it was Mein. I . . . I can't help but get the idea that maybe one of us is next."

Najenda swiftly turned back around, continuing to walk in the direction she was headed. "We're assassins, Lubbock. Death, including our own, comes with the trade. Just don't make it a self-fulfilling prophecy."

"I know that. And if I have to die today, I'm okay with that. But . . . that's not my problem."

"Then why are you bringing this up?"

"Because . . . well because you, Miss Najenda. I've thought long and hard about it, but If I don't want to die with any regrets."

"Regrets? And what do you mean 'because me?", she asked with a strong hint of confusion in her voice. "What are you talking-mmmmph!"

Before she had even realized it, Lubbock had grabbed her left hand from behind with his own, pulled her back, spun her around and buried his lips against hers, gently cradling the left side of her face with his right hand as he did. His eyes were closed.

Najenda's eye's however, were wide open, widening by the moment. Her heart was pounding. Her cheeks were flushing. As much as the veteran tactician endeavored to expect the unexpected, this moment was clearly beyond her expectations. She felt herself being bombarded with an intense wave of emotions she was not prepared to deal with.

He gently pulled away, gazing upon her shock ridden face. He too was the type who liked to plan and think ahead. In this instance though, he had acted impulsively. Too impulsively in fact. So much so that he was besides himself, beginning to second guess what he had just done.

They both stood there for a couple of moments, gazing upon one another. Neither was certain what to say or do next. Lubbock, about to open his mouth, prepared to at least apologize for his sudden outburst. His effort to speak was interrupted however.

At that exact moment, a dreaded figure had leapt off a balcony high above the courtyard and had landed right next to the two assassins. Both Lubbock and Najenda had suddenly forgotten what had transpired between them moments ago, their full attention focused on the current threat before them.

"Ah, Esdeath", Najenda casually remarked, having suddenly regained her composure in a fashion only an elite actress would be capable of. "I presume you've heard about our gracious offer to the emperor."

The Ice Queen stood fully upright, dexterously unsheathing her long rapier in one fluid motion. And she was sporting her usual smug smirk . . . the conceited look of invincibility. "Indeed I have, which is why I've come to give you a counter-offer: Surrender now and I promise to only torture you to death for one month as opposed to two."

"We'll pass.", Najenda replied.

"That's fine by me", Esdeath said with a slight shrug of the shoulders. "While we're here though, why don't you enlighten me on what's going on in that brain of yours. We both know you're not a fool; you had to have known you couldn't possibly have pulled such a hair brained scheme without first coming up with a way to deal with me. Hmm?"

To which Najenda reacted, sporting a smug look of her own, as if daring the general to attack. "You're clever. Figure it out on your own."

Esdeath took a moment to ruminate her rival's demeanor. " _What could she be up to? No matter. Worst case scenario, I can always freeze time. Cut off the chicken's head and the body will scramble around without any direction. Eliminate her first and the others will be lost like sheep without a shepard. I can handle them at my leisure."_

Firmly holding the handle of her rapier, the Ice Queen hurriedly lunged towards her nemesis, the tip of the blade on a collision course with the Night Raid commander's skull. Her speed was far too great for Najenda to avoid, much less react to. Even so, Najenda maintained her composure. And with good reason!

There was suddenly a clang heard throughout the entire courtyard; two blades clashed. Esdeath's long rapier against none other than Incursio in its dormant short-sword state. And like a streak of light, Tatsumi was suddenly on the scene; he stood across from the Ice Queen, firmly holding the handle of his sword with his right hand, blades locked, his eyes every bit as red and his demeanor every bit as calm as he had been during the second phase of his duel with General Budo. He was wearing a different outfit however; a high collared blue sweater and a white long jacket.

Opportunistic as ever, Najenda seized the opportunity to grab Lubbock's hand and began running back towards the large set of open double doors she had endeavored to head towards in the first place. "We'll leave this in your capable hands, Tatsumi!"

Yet the fact that her primary quarry was fleeing the scene didn't appear to be of any concern to the Ice Queen. All thoughts of dealing with Najenda as soon as possible were flushed out of her mind. The man she loved was standing before her and had her undivided attention. She looked upon him, the look in her eyes rather stern. "Why are you here today, Tatsumi? Is it to assassinate the emperor?"

"No", he responded, still maintaining the blade lock. "I'm only here to stop you."

She narrowed her eyes, tightening the grip on her rapier as she did. "Then it's just as I suspected. Come then, Tatsumi. Because it is you, I shall make this quick and painless."

With a quick flick of the wrist of her sword hand, she broke out of the blade lock, simultaneously knocking Tatsumi's sword hand away. She followed up with a thrust, squarely aimed at the Incursio wielder's chest; she had intended to pierce his heart, assuring just the sort of swift death she had promised him.

Were this the same Tatsumi she had faced a week ago, this certainly would have set a record for the world's quickest duel. But as a combatant, this Tatsumi was worlds apart from the other one. His expression ever so calm, he sharply turned his body to the left, causing her blade to fly right past its intended destination.

" _His speed_ ", she thought, not having seen him pull off such a move in their previous encounter. But a single unexpected movement wasn't about to stop the Ice Queen from doing what she had set out to do. In that brief instant, she pulled her rapier back, only to hurl another thrust, this one aimed at the young man's head.

Tatsumi evaded this follow-up attack as well, slightly bending his knees to duck the tip of his adversary's blade. Another thrust came as we he was evading the previous one, but this one too was avoided through sharply weaving his body to the right.

Esdeath was now firing an entire series of vicious rapid thrusts, much like the ones she had used against him back at the Revolutionary Army fortress. She was determined to end the battle just as she said she would, causing the man she loved the least amount of pain possible. But despite her seemingly noble intentions, not a single one of the thrusts could land, much less even graze Tatsumi's skin. He had gone from being unable to even react to this kind of assault to being capable of dealing with it as if it were a morning exercise.

As she hurled another thrust, the Incursio wielder did more than just evade. He stepped forward while bending his knees and ducking the tip of the incoming blade. In the split second the Ice Queen was retracting her rapier, Tatsumi moved in with an attack of his own, using his right hand to horizontally swipe his sword towards her left rib cage.

Esdeath looked startled in the split instant she noticed this; she did a backflip several feet, narrowly avoiding Tatsumi's move as a result. If not for the range advantage her weapon afforded her, she may not have been able to dodge in time. " _It's not just his speed. His skills have also changed. Drastically at that. Could it have something to do with those red eyes? And why is he so calm? When he's fighting, he's usually full of nervous energy._ "

Tatsumi didn't give chase; he simply stood in place, holding the hilt of his blade parallel to his right leg. "Esdeath", he stated in an assured and declarative fashion, his eyes suddenly glowing red like they had against Budo. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm not the same person you fought a week ago. You might want to start taking me a little more seriously."

Like a daring swashbuckler, she stiffly pointed her blade in the Incursio wielder's direction, facing him with her right foot forward and her left foot behind about a shoulders' width with the perpendicular to the front foot. The en-garde position; a legitimate fencing stance. It was clear she was about to do just that and take the duel a little more seriously. "Very well, Tatsumi. Then lets kick it up a notch."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Look Before You Leap_** **_. . . ._ ]**

* * *

Elsewhere in the imperial palace, within one of the many kitchens, a chef was hard at work in stirring and seasoning a dish on the stove. As he continued to stir, he noticed dust sprinkling into his cooking pot. He frantically looked up to see where the dust was coming from only to notice that grated air vent on the ceiling was wide open. As he noticed this, he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder from behind.

The perplexed chef turned around, his eyes greeted by the sight of a whimsical Leone. Unfortunately for him, said greeting was followed quickly by a goodbye as the feral assassin proceeded to knock him out with surprisingly powerful flick to the forehead with her index finger.

She then proceeded to dip her finger in the cooking pot and briefly taste what was being prepared. "Blech. This must be for the Prime Minister. Way too greasy."

"It's just as the boss predicted", Akame chimed in, clearly having just taken a peak outside the kitchen. "No guards are patrolling the hallway. This is probably the correct floor."

The feral assassin eagerly punched her right fist into her left palm. "Then the Emperor's panic room is not too far away."

"Assuming the boss' prediction is correct anyway. We don't yet know for certain whether they deliberately minimized security on this floor."

To which Leone smirked. "What other reason could there be other than to trick us into thinking that the Emperor is on another floor? I'm betting the hallways on the other floors are damn packed with guards."

Akame cautiously peaked her head out into the hallway again before gesturing her comrade to follow. "Just be on your guard. Even if the boss did plan this, it seems way too easy so far."

The two of them looked at one another with mutual understanding, nodding their heads before venturing out into the hallway nearby. A hallway which, as Akame suggested, was devoid of palace guards. A fact that was indeed perhaps the result of some kind of clever scheming as Leone suggested. Nevertheless, it was a fact the red eyed assassin remained skeptical of.

They crossed the entire hallway, eventually reaching an archway that led outside to a straight and linear stone fenced walkway along the palace walls. "Look", Leone commented, pointing to what was noticeably a bastion on the other side. "Not too much further."

Akame strode forward, catching a glimpse at the thousands of armed imperial soldiers down below unwaveringly guarding the palace walls. She made a mental note of how high she was; both she and Leone have traveled seventeen stories up through the palace air vents. With the soldiers all keeping watch at ground level, surely none would notice them. She began to wonder if perhaps her suspicions were unfounded.

But Leone, on the other hand, suddenly froze. She had been walking behind Akame, but stopped like a deer in the forest hearing a suspicious sound nearby. The feral assassin's sensitive feline ears had tingled. Someone, something, was nearby. Or rather, was approaching at a high pace. "AKAME, GET DOWN!", she yelled while leaping towards her fellow assassin.

At that very moment, a ball of fire rapidly descended onto the walkway, exploding upon impact. The sheer concussive force of the blast sent both of the assassins flying multiple yards towards the entrance of the bastion they had been walking towards.

This attack was so unexpected that Akame had only just now wrapped her mind around what had just occurred. Leone had tackled her to the ground and used her own body to shield her from the flames. Akame looked upon her comrade at the first opportunity, noticing the flames dancing upon her back, even at that moment. "Leone!", she cried.

"I'll be fine", the feral assassin responded, clearly in pain but obviously full of bravado. "As long as I don't have to regrow my intestines again, I'll be fine. Seriously, that sucked."

A dragon's screech could suddenly be heard. A familiar screech at that. Both Akame and Leone regained their footing, only to notice Kurome flying towards them on the back of her newly acquired dragon.

"Go on ahead", Akame said, her eyes completely and resolutely focused on her younger sister.

"Are you insane?", Leone retorted. "How are you supposed to fight her by yourself while she's riding that thing?"

"Ever since our duel in Ali Jinnah, I knew I'd be fighting my sister again. The fact that she now possesses an ultra-class danger beast doesn't change a thing. She won't hesitate to kill anyone besides me in the conventional sense and I'd rather keep it one on one anyway. Besides, we can't really afford to slow down. Get going."

Leone wanted to help her companion, but couldn't help but see the logic in her words. Engaging a flying opponent together would surely consume time; time she knew she didn't have. There was no telling when or if reinforcements would be sent into the area and her mission objective was clear. Thus, with a reluctant nod of her head, she promptly began running towards the bastion on the other side of the walkway. "Don't you dare die on me, Akame!"

As Leone ran, Kurome descended closer to the walker, finally having her dragon hover above it as she stood atop its head. She then cheerfully gazed upon her older sister. "We meet again, sis! Sorry about not saying hello last time. I was a bit preoccupied with cleaning up Revolutionary Army scum and didn't want you to get caught in the crossfire. I did go look for you in that fortress after I was done, but you were already long gone. But that's all water under the bridge. What's important is that you're here now!"

"Kurome", the red eyed assassin said, reaching for an item in her pocket. "Don't make me do this. There must still be some part of you that hasn't been corrupted by that accursed weapon of yours. You're still my sister."

"You don't have to do anything, sis. Just sit tight right there. I've been practicing with my pet here. Now I can have him use fireballs that don't completely kill whatever they hit. Don't you see what this means? Even if you do get burned, as long as I use yatsufusa to stab you in a vital area in time, we can still be together forever! And don't worry about the burns. Yatsufusa will make you as good as new after I'm done!"

Doing her best to disregard her sister's madness, Akame removed her hand from her pocket, revealing the antique music box she had obtained in Ali Jinnah. "Please tell me you still remember this!"

Kurome's eyes widened. A glimpse of the past flashed throughout her mind. She could tell that the item Akame was holding in her hands was very important to the two of them. More important than anything else. "That's . . . that's . . ." But alas, she fervently shook her head, pushing all thoughts and sentimental feelings towards that item aside. "Whatever that is, it's unimportant, sis. The only trinket we need is Yatsufusa. As long as we have that, we'll always be together."

"I see", Akame said with a reluctant sigh while placing the music box back into her pocket. She then unsheathed her trusty imperial arm, Murasame. "What happened to you is my fault. As your older sister, it's my job to protect you. I should have never allowed them to separate us when were children. Forgive me Kurome, but this is the only thing I can do for you at this point."

Kurome remained cheerful, albeit with a somewhat more psychotic disposition. "You're confused sis. Again, don't worry. I'll make everything right no matter how much you resist!" Just as she said this, the ultra-class danger beast she was sitting upon opened its mouth, flames on the verge of pouring out. Yet another fireball came flying out, this one aimed directly at Akame.

However, Akame's guard wasn't down this time; she was ready to react. By the time the fireball had hit the ground she had been standing upon, she was already out of the way. She had evidently jumped into the air at blinding speed. Kurome noticed this, looking up into the air above her, only to see Akame descending down with a downward swing of her blade

The black eyed Jaegar parried her sister's swing with an unsheathed Yatsufusa. At the same time, she mentally ordered her puppet to hurriedly flap its wings and soar into the sky. Completely unprepared for this dragon's sudden movements, Akame lost her balance, subsequently falling off the ultra class beast as a result.

In a split second, she looked down below her, realizing that she'd fall to her death as the dragon had already moved well past the walkway she had been standing upon initially. With no time to lose, she quickly used her left hand to grab the only thing in her reach; she latched onto the tip of the dragon's tail. She looked down once more, only to notice that the imperial palace was becoming smaller and smaller from her viewpoint.

Even still, Kurome sat patiently on the dragon's neck, undaunted by the heights she was soaring. "I've been testing out my newest pet here all week. I've already gotten used to breathing at this altitude. The cold air too! A real bummer if you haven't trained yourself to adapt to it. I wonder how long you'll be able to withstand it! Let me know when you pass out, 'kay sis?"

It was at this point that the red eyed assassin cursed under her breath. Her younger sister could have easily continued attacking from a distance, no doubt the most logical course of action against an opponent who can only fight at close range. Instead, Kurome intentionally got close, knowing full well that Akame would seize the opportunity to attack and inadvertently place herself into this very predicament.

Akame carefully placed the blade of her imperial arm into her mouth, holding the weapon in place with her teeth alone. She was careful about her movements, given how sharp Murasame was. Even the slightest of wrong movements could result in her getting cut and subsequently killed by the blade's ethereal venom.

With the sword carefully in place, she started climbing up the dragon's tail. She did her best not to pay close attention to the altitude she was at as there was no telling how far they were from entering the stratosphere. Right hand, left foot, right foot, left hand. The pace at which she climbed was steady. But as she moved further up, she felt her lungs swelling. The air was becoming thinner by the second and it was becoming harder to breathe. With a week of training, perhaps she could endure this like her sister was evidently, but that wasn't an option. She knew she had to get this beast to the ground as soon as possible or she would indeed pass out.

Squeezing both of her legs around the dragon's tail as leverage, she carefully pulled her sword out from her mouth and thrusted the tip against its skin. To her surprise, despite the sharpness of her imperial arm, it didn't even muster a scratch in the ultra-class beast's skin. She had heard dragon scales were tough, but never would've imagined they were this resilient.

Kurome, meanwhile continued to sit upon her puppet's neck, her head turned just enough to see how her sister was progressing. She smirked whimsically at the sight, fascinated by her sister's struggle. "It's useless, sis. If Yatsufusa can't cut its skin, Murasame can't either."

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Wine in Front of Me. . . ._ ]**

* * *

Lubbock and Najenda, meanwhile, were in a separate area of the palace. The two of them were running alongside one another in a hallway, no palace guards in sight. As they made their way to the end of the hallway, Najenda immediately ceased sprinting, simultaneously stopping her green haired subordinate with her left hand. She then placed her index finger over her lips, gesturing him to be silent.

The hallway had split off into two different hallways. Najenda had cleaned up against the wall adjacent to the corridor on the left. She then peaked her head out towards the corresponding corridor to see if the coast was clear only to spot a noticeably mundane door nearby.

"No guards around", Lubbock whispered, having also taken a peak down the hallway to the right. "One of the emperor's panic rooms, maybe?"

"Possibly", she replied, rubbing her chin contemplatively. "We should . . ."

Lubbock had his eyes fixated on the door nearby. It took him a few moments to realize his commander hadn't finished her sentence. "We should what?" He turned his head back towards her, only to notice that she had looking down the hallway to the left; she looked as if she had seen a ghost. "Miss Najenda?"

The Night Raid commander swiftly regained her composure. "I'm going on ahead. Ascertain whether or not the emperor is actually in that room. When you're finished, proceed precisely as planned."

"You're not planning on doing something suicidal again, are you?"

Najenda sighed, recalling his insubordination at the Revolutionary Army fortress. "What would be the point? If I did, you'd just disobey orders again."

Knowing that his commander wasn't about to again recklessly put her life on the line put a smile on the green haired assassin's face. "Can't argue with you there."

She began to walk away, into the left hallway. "And while you're at it, try not to die. I'd hate for you to have to miss out on the awkward conversation we're going to have once all of this is over."

Frantic thoughts filled the young man's mind as he heard this. He immediately began rubbing his face into the palm of his hand. " _Awkward conversation?! Oh shit. Did I screw up back there? I screwed up, didn't I? Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Holy shit! Maybe I should just let myself get killed! I'm gonna die of embarrassment at this rate anyway!"_

Lubbock did his best to shake away his anxieties; he knew he needed his mind to be sharp and focused. He walked towards the mundane door in the right hallway, placing his hand on the door handle and turning the knob. It was locked. " _Not to worry_ ", he thought, using his wires to form a makeshift lock pick.

Within ten seconds, he managed to unlock the door, entering the room in hopes of seeing a sign of the emperor. His eyes wandered as he noticed various lavish paintings all throughout the room's walls. To Lubbock's disgust, they were all depictions of the Prime Minister in a glorious light; it was clearly an art gallery of sorts tailor made to his honor, almost as if he were the emperor. Alas, no one appeared to be present.

He nonetheless continued to look around the room anyway, eventually walking over a Persian rug in one of the corners. He immediately noticed a slight but hollow echo as he stepped foot on the rug. " _Could it be?"_ he thought, immediately deciding to bend down and pull the rug up. To his fortune, he stumbled upon a trap door. " _Jackpot._ "

" _Let's see what you're hiding down here_ ", he thought, pulling the door up and seeing a downward spiral stairway with lit torches held in place alongside the walls. Wasting no time, he proceeded to head down these stairs, making certain to close the trap door above him before fully venturing in.

Lubbock found himself traipsing down multiple flights of these torch-lit stairs, growing more certain by the minute that something or rather someone awaiting him, given the trouble he had to go through simply to find this area. It had taken him a considerable amount of walking, but he finally reached the bottom of the stair way. There, he saw a silver pair of double doors before him.

Behind the doors was a sight unlike any other in the imperial palace. It was a dimly lit spacious cavern no doubt older than the palace itself and perhaps even the empire. From where Lubbock was standing, there was a narrow rail-less walkway going from the entrance to the other side of the area. The assassin peeled his eyes, only to notice a litany of holding cells and laboratory equipment.

He decided to get a closer look, stepping foot onto the narrow walkway before him. But upon taking fives steps across, on the very fifth step, the particular part of the walkway he was standing upon suddenly crumbled, sending the green haired assassin plummeting down towards what looked like a bottomless hole. "Damnit!"

The assassin wasted no time with his next action; he thrusted his right hand upward as he fell, sending a set of wires in the shape of a lasso hurling around the walkway, keeping him from falling any further and perhaps literally 'hanging by a thread.'

"Lubbock, is it?", said a familiar voice that could be heard nearby.

Still hanging from his wires, Lubbock frantically looked in the direction he heard the voice coming from. It was none other than the Jaegar's vice-commander, Run. Run was hovering in the air and slowly drawing near. " _Oh great. Not this guy again._ "

"I wondered which of you would come down here hoping to find the emperor. You're the disguised assassin I fought in Ali-Jinnah, aren't you?"

"As observant as ever. I'm also the guy who sold you your copy of _The Thirsty Games: Baldswallow_! You owe me 3 pieces of gold by the way!"

A little over ten razor sharp feathers suddenly manifested next to Run as he raised his right arm. "Have whoever is in charge of your funeral forward me the bill."

Without a moment's notice, the feathers swiftly flew in Lubbock's direction with the intensity of armor piercing rounds from a semi-automatic rifle. A move to which the Night Raid member couldn't react to, much less avoid given the position he was in. Before he could even blink, every single feather prodded into his chest and stomach.

Run smirked in satisfaction at the sight of this. Unlike Esdeath, for him, the best victory was one that was swift and easy. He hovered closer towards his slain adversary, intent on making certain he was dead before heading back upstairs to help eliminate the remaining members of Night Raid. The assassin's eyes were shut and his body looked to be held up by the wires attached to the glove on his right hand, but Run was intent on making certain of his victory.

But to Run's shock, Lubbock instantly opened his eyes upon sensing that the Jaegar was within five feet of him. He quickly lashed out multiple wires from the glove on his left hand much like a whip.

"God's Wings!" Upon saying this, the two wings on Run's back suddenly took on a light ethereal blue form. He quickly flapped them in such a way as to deflect the wires.

Lubbock, meanwhile, used this opportunity to use the wires on his right hand to reel himself back up to the narrow walkway above and regain his footing. He kept his eyes squared on his opponent at all times, no doubt attempting to piece together a strategy.

Run's wings reverted back to normal and he flew up to the walkway as well, only to land on the side opposite to where the Night Raid assassin was standing. "My my. Playing dead and not attacking me 'till I got close. As tenacious as ever. How did you survive just now by the way?"

Lubbock lifted his t-shirt up, revealing a plethora of cross-tail's wires threaded around his chest and stomach. "Cut me some slack. You didn't think I'd walk down some spooky stairs without being prepared, did you? I am a professional assassin after all. Didn't think you really had an answer to sudden close range attacks though. Your trump card, I take it?"

"And what if it is?"

To which the green haired assassin sighed. "Then this battle is going to a bigger pain in my ass than I thought. As long as we're in this huge cave, you'll keep your distance and use that trump card of yours to ward off anything I throw at you. And I doubt you'll give me another chance to get close."

"I must admit I find myself in a similar quandary. With that imperial arm of yours, you're quite skilled at defending yourself from my attacks. Even when your guard was down, I still couldn't finish you off. It pains me to admit it, but a fight with you is bound to take a while."

"No kidding. And no matter who loses, the victor will probably be in no shape to go help his teammates afterwards."

"I'm afraid so. No matter how you look at, it would seem the two of us have reached an impasse."

Lubbock looked around the cavern, eyes glancing at every nook and cranny they could perceive, hoping to find some method or means of circumventing this stalemate. He looked at the laboratory equipment behind the other end of the walkway once more, this time noticing two chairs and a chess table as well. It was then that he looked as if a lightbulb had gone off in his head.

Run noticed this look in his adversary's eyes. "I take it this means you've come up with a plan after all."

To which the green haired assassin grinned. "Something like that. Say, you're a pretty smart guy, right?"

"I'm too modest to boast."

"In that case, I challenge you to a battle of wits!"

"A battle of wits, huh. What brought this on?"

"One thing I've learned from going up against you is that we both like to use our heads when it comes to a fight. If we extensively rely on our imperial arms, there's no telling who will win, but we can settle things much quicker with what I have in mind."

Run smirked, intrigued by the assassin's proposal. "Hmm . . . and I presume this battle would be to the death."

"You bet!"

"Then I accept your challenge."

"Good. I'll just need to grab that chess table and those two chairs over there!", Lubbock shouted, pointing to the area behind the Jaegar.

"Retrieve whatever you like, but don't think for a moment that there's anything over there you could use to catch me by surprise."

"I'd be insulting you if I did."

Sensing no clever ploy or deception, Run flapped his wings and flew into the air. He then landed himself in front of silver double doors at the cavern's entrance, sealing off his adversary's sole escape route while observing his actions from a safe distance. Lubbock meanwhile walked to the other side of the walkway and subsequently past much of the laboratory equipment.

The assassin walked up to the holding cells. There were two thick stone pillars near them. He turned his head back towards Run, almost as if to make certain the Jaegar was paying attention before wrapping two wires around both pillars. Then, with a quick tug of both wires, both pillars split in two and collapsed.

"Impressive!", the Jaegar shouted from the other side of the cavern. "But what does that have to do with our battle of wits?"

"You'll see soon enough!", Lubbock replied. He then proceeded to do what he claimed he wanted to do; he grabbed the two chairs nearby as well as the chess table that had been between them. Like Run, he kept his eyes on his adversary the entire time, making certain that he wouldn't use this opportunity to attack him while his guard was down.

Next, Lubbock walked back across the narrow walkway with the three pieces of furniture in tow. Upon getting to the middle, he placed the chess table in the exact center and set the two chairs on both sides of it. He then did something even more curious; he shot out two pairs of wires from cross-tail, one pair from each glove. Both pairs went under and over the walkway; they were each wrapped under a chair.

The Night Raid assassin then proceeded to sit at the chair facing Run. "Have a seat!"

To which the Jaegar responded, cautiously hovering in the other man's direction. "You aren't going to try and ensnare me with your wires once I get up close again, are you?"

"We both know that wouldn't work, thanks to your trump card. Just as we both know I'd be prepared if you tried using your feathers again."

"I suppose there's no disputing that", Run said, before taking a seat at the table.

"Before we start this game, there is one rule: Neither of us may use our imperial arms."

"A fine rule were there assurance of your intent to maintain it."

"Not too worry. We'll do this the old fashioned way. Both of us will set our imperial arm down on the table at the exact same time, nice and slow. If either of us tries to double cross the other, we can always pick them back up quick-draw style and kill each other. But I'm sure you're already aware of the problem with betting everything on a double cross."

"Naturally. There's no guarantee as to who will prevail between the two of us. My reflexes aren't noticeably different from yours. In such a scenario, it could go either way, defeating the whole purpose of deciding things in this manner. If either of us were content with mere chance, we would've stuck to a more conventional battle with our imperial arms."

"And neither of us would have ever agreed to sit at this table, but here we are. So then, are you ready?"

With a nod of his head, the two wings on Run's back suddenly vanished without a trace, as did the two metal disc that had been hovering around his shoulders. Two metallic rings then appeared on the Jaegar's index fingers, presumably his imperial arm in its most dormant state. Lubbock took note of this, preparing to remove his imperial arm as well, the two gloves on his hands that made up 'Cross-tail.'

At precisely the exact same time, they both removed their imperial arms and Run set his two rings on his side of the table. Lubbock had set his gloves down as well, though in a much different position. They were both near the center of the chess table, the right hand glove somewhat closer to himself and the left hand glove somewhat closer to Run. What's more, even though he had removed the gloves from his hand, the wires he had wrapped beneath the walkway were still protruding out from the gloves.

Run chuckled at the sight of this, as if having suddenly deduced what kind of game he'd be playing. "Ah, so that's what you're up to?"

"Earlier, you saw me shoot some wires under these chairs. Four wires in fact; two for each glove. Two of them are wrapped around the floor under your chair and two of them are wrapped around the floor under mine. As you saw with those pillars back there, cross-tail's wires are sharp enough to where all it takes is one quick tug to cut through just about anything. Just imagine what will happen if you tug either of these gloves. The floor directly beneath us will split apart and one of us will fall in that bottomless pit below us. In other words, which glove corresponds with which chair? The battle of wits has begun. It ends when you decide and we both find out who is sitting comfortably in their chair and who is falling to their death."

* * *

 **[. . . . The Gap Between You and Him. . . .]**

* * *

Oblivious to Akame's current predicament, Leone had hurriedly entered the bastion she had been running towards, bursting through the door. She promptly turned her attention to inspecting the room she had just entered, noticing that it was a fully stocked extravagant library with tall and wide bookcases covering the walls. Though much like Lubbock's endeavor downstairs, she saw no sign of the emperor.

She walked further into the room, attempting to scrutinize it closer, if for no other purpose than to see if there were any clues to the emperor's whereabouts. Her search was promptly interrupted, however, by the sound of the bastion door behind her shutting in a loud and forceful manner. Her eyes widened, not having expected anyone to sneak up on her. She turned around, only to see the one remaining Jaegar yet to be engaged thus far: Wave.

"This is the end of the line for . . ." The Grand Chariot wielder paused mid-sentence, his eyes immediately wandering from Leone's head to her chest. "What is wrong with you?! Why are you running around like that?!"

"Like what?", Leone asked, literally having no idea what he was referring to or why he was suddenly and partially covering his eyes with one of his hands while blushing.

"Your chest . . . cover your chest!"

The feral assassin looked down at her chest, only to realize that her trademark white scarf and her black tube top were missing. "What the hell?!", she shrieked. "Why am I topless all of the sudden?!"

"Why the hell should I know?!", Wave retorted. "Just cover up!"

"With what, jackass?! In case you haven't noticed, this isn't exactly a laundry room here!"

To Leone's surprise, like a true gentleman, Wave did not hesitate to remove his blue leather jacket and hand it to what he perceived to be a lady in need. "Here. Put it on quick and make sure you button it all the way up!"

"Wow!", Leone chimed, grinning from ear to ear. "Considering that I might end up killing you, you sure about this?"

"Just put it on!", he sighed.

The feral assassin wasted no time taking the Jaegar up on his offer. She put the jacket on and buttoned it up to the best of her ability. Granted, her DD cup bust size forced her to leave some noteworthy cleavage nonetheless. "You know the difference between you and me? I make this look good."

"Do you always kid around with someone who might kill you?"

Of course the irony inherent within this question wasn't lost upon Leone. "That depends. Do you always stop to help someone who might kill you?"

Wave quickly jammed his sword into the floor, suddenly being donned in his Grand Chariot armor. "I do what my heart guides me to do."

"That so? Then tell me: Does your heart guide you to serve someone as evil as the Prime Minister?"

"Absolutely not! As a matter of fact, let's just say that if all goes according to plan, I won't be serving him for long."

"Sweet sassy molassy!", Leone exclaimed, Wave being perhaps the last person she'd ever hear such words from. "I don't believe it. Does this mean you've finally come along to our way of thinking?"

"Of course not!"

"But you plan on assassinating the Prime Minister regardless, so what are you doing mixing it up with me for? Oh wait, don't tell me. I get your plan. It's gonna start off as a 'fight', but as we're wrestling on the ground, you're going to pin both of my arms to the floor, gaze deeply into my eyes, take off your armor and then-"

"What the?! Where do you come up with this stuff?!"

She shrugged her shoulders, as if recalling a childhood memory. "When you're poor and growing up in the slums, sometimes shitty shoujo novels are all you've got to keep yourself entertained."

"Regardless, I'm not some cold blooded thug like you", Wave responded, despite knowing full well who it was that ended the life of Seryu Ubiquitous in cold blood. A memory that flared up as he said this, but one he just as quickly suppressed. "Run has already come up with a plan to deal with the Prime Minister once and for all that doesn't involve assassinations and is perfectly within the system. And as soon we've dealt with you guys, he intends to start implementing it."

Leone was taken aback for a moment. His words; for one reason or another, they resonated with her, regardless of whether she agreed with them. It was as if the person standing before her was in fact the naïve young assassin she held in such high esteem. But she knew that not to be the case. "Heh. The two of you really aren't all that different when you really think about."

"Hmm?"

"You're here to stop me, right?"

"That's right!", Wave shouted before raising his fist, bending his knees and assuming stance any fighter worth their salt would recognize as being out from the pages of muay thai. "I'll make sure none of you lay a finger on the emperor today!"

Leone practically threw herself at the Jaegar with such intensity, her composure radically changing without a moment's notice; her left fist guarding her face and right fist being hurled directly at his head. "Then you better bring it!"

Wave blocked the incoming straight right punch with his left arm, widening his eyes beneath his helmet as he felt the sheer impact. " _Her punches weren't this strong last time. Was she holding back?_ "

She instantly threw out a left hook. Not literally instant of course, but it may as well have been, given how quickly it connected to the right side of Wave's armored head. Armor, which despite being touted as invulnerable, still didn't completely protect him from the pain and dizziness just then.

"I've been fighting him all week, you know!", Leone yelled before following up with more punches to the head, all of which were cleanly landing. Wave was wobbling on his feet from all of this punishment. Sensing the feral assassin charging in for another attack, he desperately threw a haymaker with his right hand, hurling his fist out in a heavily telegraphed fashion.

"Not just me, but Akame, Lubbock and even the boss lady as well!" She avoided his haymaker while simultaneously nailing him in the face with a clean counter-punch with her left. This latest blow sent Wave stumbling back into a bookcase, dozens of books falling on his head as this happened.

"At first, it was to help him train. To help him get ready for this mission", she said, intensely walking towards her opponent. The Jaegar was barely standing, still reeling from that last attack.

"But at some point, it became less about helping him get better and more about seeing what he's got. And let me tell you, the way he is now, even the four of us going at him at the same time, we still couldn't beat him. Not once. We thought we were helping him improve, but it was really the other way around. Then there's his eyes. Those damn eyes of his watching your every move. They look so calm whenever he is fighting. But don't let that fool you like it did us."

" _Where is all of this coming from?_ ", Wave thought, feeling much like a deer caught at the headlights. Not just at how proficiently she was besting him in close quarters combat, but the person he was describing. Surely she wasn't referring to the person he thought she was.

"My point? If you can't handle me, you sure as hell can't handle him! Don't even think about telling me what you're going to keep all of us from doing if you don't have what it takes to back it up!"

* * *

 **[ _. . . . Enter the Demented_** _ **Psychopath** _**_. . . ._ ]**

* * *

Unlike her four subordinates, Najenda was the only member of Night Raid that wasn't currently locked in heated battle in one form or another. She was sneaking around the palace hallways, making certain to avoid detection from the guards. A task that didn't appear to be as difficult as one would expect given the lack of guards in certain areas of the palace.

But avoiding detection was not the Night Raid commander's only concern. She wasn't just sneaking; she was actively tailing something or rather someone. Her pursuit led her outside the large double doors that led to the imperial throne room. There, she quickly hid behind a nearby indoor water fountain.

She peaked her head out ever so slightly, only to notice that the throne room doors had opened, almost as if a troublesome apparition were responsible. A lone individual then proceeded to walk through the doors with impunity. That individual being the leader of the Path of Peace as well as the leader of the Revolutionary army: Her father.

Najenda took another look around the immediate area, making certain that no guards were nearby to see her. She then dashed right into the throne room as quickly as she could. As she soon as she got inside, she saw no sign of her father nor anyone else for that matter. That was until she laid her eyes on the emperor's throne.

There, before her very eyes, was not the emperor or even Prime Minister Honest, but the despicable and sadistic villain, Syura. "Bravo! Bravo!", he said with mock praise, clapping his hands while sporting a sinister grin. "You finally made it!"

If the Night Raid commander were surprised or unsettled by this encounter, her facial expressions certainly didn't show it. Instead, she maintained her usual cool and collected demeanor. "You must be the Prime Minister's brat. I've heard a lot about you."

Syura pointed to an object that was attached to his forehead; he was once again in possession of Zank the Executioner's imperial arm, Spectator. "As have I, if reading someone's mind constitutes 'hearing' anyway!"

"I see", Najenda replied. "And that thing I was following was not my father, but an illusion created by one of Spectator's abilities. I believe it's called Illusion Sight, no?"

He nodded his head before licking his lips. "And I just so happen to be using another one of Spectator's abilities right now. Care to guess which one?"

"I'd be more interested in discussing what you sought to gain in luring me here than Spectator's ability to see through clothing."

"Had I left you alone with that little punk with green hair, it might have interfered with my plans. Besides . . ."

One of Syura's portals suddenly manifested itself right in front of the throne. He got up and stepped through it, instantly vanishing into thin air. Najenda reacted, swiftly looking around the room, not having any inclination as to where he went. No more than a second later, she heard the throne room doors behind her close, prompting her to turn around.

Syura was suddenly leaning up against the now closed doors, still maintaining his sinister grin and licking his lips. "I haven't gotten off since this morning. And even then, it was just another one of my father's maids. It's so dull when my playthings just lie there in fear. Believe it or not, I prefer a struggle. Especially when it's from a woman reeking with power and authority. Take General Esdeath for example. Boy would I love to knock her off her high horse once and for all. But she's obviously off limits . . . for now anyway. But you . . . you I can handle just fine."

"Teleportation is not one of the abilities granted by Spectator. How are you able to do that?"

The Prime Minister's son removed a small locket like item with circular purple glass in the center, only to boldly display it before the Night Raid commander's eyes. "With my imperial arm, Shambala! "

"Impossible!", Najenda exclaimed. "That would mean you were-"

Syura held out his right hand, marveling at the single brown silk glove he was wearing. "Using two imperial arms? You're absolutely right, but it's far from impossible, thanks to my Limit Breaker here! As long as I'm wearing it, the usual rules of having an imperial arm don't apply to me!"

"How many imperial arms do you have with you?"

"It's no use trying to stall for time when I can read your mind", he said with another wink and a chuckle. "But don't worry, I've only brought Spectator and Shambala to deal with you. I had thought about bringing Extase as well, if for no other reason than to remind you of your failure to protect those you care about, but I'd hate to cut you ribbons before I've had my fill."

"You didn't think of bringing Gaea Foundation? That was also an imperial arm within one of my subordinate's possession."

"Brilliant deduction!", Syura said, clapping his hands with more mock praise. "You're even smarter than stories make you out to be. Yes, your thoughts are correct. I killed Chelsea."

Despite hearing this, Najenda's demeanor didn't change in the slightest. She still appeared cool and collected. "Is that so?"

But thanks to the powers of Spectator, Syura knew better, sporting a grin of satisfaction as he continued to peer into the assassin-leader's mind. "Oooh, what a scary thought. Am I supposed to be shaking in my boots right about now?"

"Why don't we let the next 15 minutes answer that?", she retorted before suddenly flinging her left fist towards the sadistic man's face.

"Too slow!" Syura easily bobbed his head out of the way, still smirking with the utmost confidence as he did. In turn, the Night Raid commander used the momentum of her missed punch to spin to the right and launch a right leg spin kick. But Syura once again dodged her attack, backstepping out of the range of her heel and catching her flying ankle with his left hand. He quickly proceeded to latch his other hand onto the assassin's ankle, spin her entire body around in several 360 arcs before letting go and tossing her upwards into the air.

In the small fraction of time Najenda was being hurled upwards, she glanced down towards where her sadistic adversary had been standing, only to realize that he had vanished. It was upon having this realization that she heard the words "Behind you!" being spouted behind her. By the time she turned her head to look in that direction, she felt two clasped together hands smash into her back and send her flying down towards the floor.

"This might hurt a little", Syura said, having just teleported to the spot Najenda was about to fall to. Before she could react, he jumped into the air and broke her fall with a knee to her stomach.

This latest move sent the assassin-leader tumbling to the ground, doubling over in pain. A sight which Syura found most amusing, no doubt filling him with wicked pleasure. "A pity. I only meant to rupture two ribs there, but Spectator is telling me I ruptured six."

"Demented psychopath", Najenda muttered, painstakingly regaining her footing.

To which Syura answered, smugly acting as if the fight had already been settled. "All those thoughts pouring in that brain of yours! You're like a machine! Now I see how you became a general. And how you've been such a thorn in my father's side with Night Raid. You're already thought of 23 different possible weaknesses Shambala possesses. You're trying desperately to hone in on the right one. But it won't do you any good. As long as your mind is an open book to me, I can just gently read along."

"You think . . . so!" The Night Raid assassin sprang towards her opponent with a sudden flying jump kick.

Syura casually stepped out of the way while yawning in the most obnoxious manner possible. "I don't think; I know. I also know about that imperial arm you're hiding and that you had planned on stalling me until your little green haired munchkin arrived to help you. Like hell I'll let that happen. I can go kill him whenever it suits me, so go ahead and use it here and now. I'd like to see it in action before I add it to my collection."

Najenda glared upon her opponent, the look in her eye not one that acknowledged the adversity of the situation she was in. "Syura, I wonder how well you think you'd fair if you weren't reading each and every one of my thoughts. Pretty cautious way to fight a woman, especially when said woman lacks an eye and an arm. From what I hear, even Spectator's original owner, Zanku, wasn't that paranoid. Or maybe it's not paranoia I'm detecting. Maybe it's fear."

"Provoking me is useless. I can read your mind, so I know you're just trying to distract me from reading your thoughts in the hopes that I'll make a mistake you can exploit. Use your imperial arm already so I can break your spirit completely."

"One of our spirits is going to be broken before this day ends, but it won't be mine." She carefully began unscrewing the cylinder that was attached to her prosthetic arm, spinning it off like a cap on a bottle of wine. Upon removing the 'cap', she tossed it to the floor, revealing the imperial arm Syura had used Spectator to learn about. It was the same imperial arm Akame had absconded from Sten of the four Rakshasa demons; the same hook shaped imperial arm that Tatsumi had cleaved away from that pirate he and Esdeath had engaged: Thunder God's Rage: Adramelech. Small sparks of electricity were already dancing across it.

* * *

 **[. . . . Wicked Serendipity** **. . . .]**

* * *

If one word could be used to describe Esdeath's swordsmanship, it would be the word 'relentless.' As the current phase of her duel with Tatsumi progressed, he techniques more than lived up to this word. She bombarded the young man with a full-fledged blitz of vicious sword strikes, attacking him from every angle one could muster with a sword; vertical swings, horizontal swipes, diagonal slashes, lightning fast thrusts, upward angles, downward angles, left angles, right angles.

True to her reputation, the Ice Queen was a genius when it came to swordplay. When serious, her style was unique in that it allowed the opponent no time to adjust to the tempo. It was a heavily aggressive style with attacks that seemed random and unpredictable; a style no doubt designed to keep the opponent on the defensive, assuming they were unlike most of the Ice Queen's prey and were actually able to last longer than a few seconds. Combined with the impressive range and versatility her long rapier offered her and this was truly a monstrous offense. Little wonder that this was her fighting style, given how well it complimented her personality; her need to dominate and be in control.

And so she was. Tatsumi was fully on the defensive, barely blocking Esdeath's techniques with his blade. Of course, he wasn't just standing across from her like before. He was also employing a great deal of acrobatics and unconventional tactics; leaping across the courtyard furniture, hurling himself over statues of the Prime Minister, skirting around the trees in the area as if to use them as a shield.

Esdeath aggressively pursued him at every step, however, determined to end his life. As a result, the more the battle had progressed, the more it appeared to simulate a game of cat and mouse. Esdeath the predatorial feline and Tatsumi the skittish rodent. But to the Ice Queen's bemusement, he wasn't skittish. She half-expected someone using his tactics to be craven, but that wasn't the case here. Her eyes were trained on him throughout their entire game of tag, fully cognizant of the look in his eyes. They were glowing, but they were still . . . calm.

Indeed, despite the situation he was in, Tatsumi looked as if he were taking a walk in the park on a warm Sunday afternoon. Or to be more precise, he looked as if he were sitting at a pond with his fishing pole, patiently waiting for the string on his pole to tug before reeling in in the unsuspecting fish.

The general began to wonder. Was this really Tatsumi's limit? Or was she in fact an unsuspecting fish waiting to be caught? "Is this all you can do, Tatsumi?", she taunted amidst their exchange, hoping to provoke a reaction out of him, anything to get a sense of whatever trick he might have had up his sleeve. "Run around like a frightened puppy with its tail tucked between its legs? Why don't you quit running around like a dog and face me standing like a man?"

"Okay", he said before suddenly ceasing his evasive acrobatics, now standing still in the middle of the courtyard.

Esdeath came to a sudden pause as well, legitimately surprised at her adversary's actions. Even more curious was Tatsumi's next move; he slipped into an old fashioned longsword stance; the tip of his blade was pointed towards his opponent's chest and he horizontally held the hilt besides his head using both of his hands. A stance any seasoned swordsman would recognize as the Ochs position.

The Ice Queen interpreted this gesture as an open invitation to attack. She didn't hesitate to again slip into the stance she had assumed at the beginning of this stage of the duel. Without a moment's notice, she pounced towards the assassin. Her blade was in a deceptively neutral position as she lunged; it was held in such a way that she could transition into any kind of sword strike at any moment; such was the vicious and unpredictable nature of Esdeath's swordsmanship; a level of skill far beyond what she had displayed when she fought Najenda.

She stopped her lunge mid-movement, converting it into an almost invisible upwards diagonal slash. Tatsumi responded by stepping one foot back and blocking with the tip end of his sword. The Ice Queen continued with a thrust, extending her blade fully out towards her opponent's head. But the assassin yet again stepped one foot backwards, blocking this subsequent attack with the tip end of his sword while staying safely outside the range of her weapon.

" _More defense?_ ", she thought. _"Is that all? How disappointing. If this is all you can muster, you should have continued running. This fight ends here and now and so does your life."_

In that instant, Esdeath continued her assault with a short but downward diagonal slash. Tatsumi blocked in that exact same fashion as he had against the preceding two attacks. But just as he blocked, the Ice Queen converted the attack into another thrust, stepping forward as her blade rubbed alongside his and utterly negating the distance Tatsumi created by taking another step back. The tip of her rapier flew right at the young man's face, inches from piercing his eyes and subsequently his skull.

But those eyes remained calm even still. Like the fisherman finally feeling a tug on his fishing rod after patiently waiting at the edge of the row boat all day, he tugged. Not a pole, but the hilt of his sword; her jerked it up in the air parallel to Esdeath's long rapier, flinging the weapon right out of her hand. The blade twirled around a number of times before falling and sticking into the ground a couple of yards away. Even the force of Tatsumi's swing was something to behold; it gusted Esdeath's hat clean off in the process.

She jumped back, once more creating distance between herself and her opponent. The Ice Queen, having just registered in her mind what had just occurred, was beside herself. To think someone could disarm her. HER. The empire's strongest general. HER. The greatest warrior the country had ever seen. HER. The last survivor of the Partas clan. It was unreal.

Tatsumi relaxed his guard, still firmly gripping the hilt of his sword out of caution, but no longer in the Ochs stance. Instead, he lowered the blade yet again parallel to his right leg. "All of your techniques are focused on preventing your opponent from fighting back, right? By making your attacks hard to anticipate, your opponent has no choice but to stay on the defensive, giving you the chance to whittle them down and finish them off. It's effective, but far from unbeatable if your opponent can anticipate your attacks. Yours can be predicted by watching the way you tug your wrist before every attack. It's slight, but just enough to anticipate what you're about to do and how to counter."

Esdeath widened her eyes at the assassin's explanation. The Tatsumi she knew had always had ample untapped talent, but the one standing before her appeared to have the analytical skills of a veteran swordsman. What's more, everything he said was absolutely correct, but no one she encountered in the past, not even Budo, had ever figured it out. She reacted to both of these realizations by looking down towards the ground she stood on and burying her face in the palm of her hand.

A sight Tatsumi found curious, given what he knew of her pride. How strong it was. Not to mention her ego. He silently wondered to himself whether he had crushed it just now, but what happened next put such thoughts to rest.

She gradually looked back up towards the Incursio wielder, not with a look of shame or despair, but . . . excitement. Maniacal glee in fact. Gone was the side of her that wanted to give the man she loved a quick and painless death. That side disappeared and Esdeath the battle maniac had fully resurfaced. Practically oozing with battle lust, she began to laugh in a maniacal fashion. "You can't imagine how long I've been searching for you . . . or rather someone like you. Who would've ever thought in a million years that it would be you?! Who would've thought that you would the worthy opponent I've been seeking for so long?! Is this luck?! Is this fate?! Is this wicked serendipity?!"

Tatsumi was undaunted by the Ice Queen ostentatious display. His consistently calm demeanor aside, he had long been aware of this aspect of her personality. If anything, the only surprise in his mind was that it hadn't surfaced sooner. "I take it you're no longer going to hold anything back."

She clasped her hands together in an almost prayer-like fashion, causing numerous rows of razor sharp icicles to manifest out of the thin air around her. "Not a chance my beloved. That would be an insult of astronomical proportions. From this point forward, I shall use everything I have to crush you. You are worthy of no less. So show me more, Tatsumi. Show me more of your newfound strength."

The assassin immediately recalled the times he had seen this technique in the past. First when they were alone together on that uninhabited island and she had instantly skewered a giant danger beast much like the one Dr. Stylish had turned himself into. Second when the two were fighting against pirates on that merchant's ship; she skewered them all with practically nothing more than a gesture. This time, was different however. The number of icicles she had summoned was much greater; there were at least one hundred.

The Ice Queen uttered one word. "Weissschnabel." Each and every icicle that was summoned suddenly flew in Tatsumi's direction. But with no intent of becoming a human pincushion, he responded with a full flurry of swipes from his sword, his sword-arm and his blade giving off the appearance of a constant blur. Every projectile of ice that was intercepted by this blur was either bisected or batted away.

"Grauhorn", Esdeath said, creating a long and large horn of ice from thin air.

Still dealing with the razor sharp icicles, Tatsumi noticed this next attack flying straight at him and that the ice itself was as wide and as tall as his entire body. Before the horn could touch him, he did a backflip into the air, avoiding the attack entirely.

But at that very moment, Esdeath once again said "Grauhorn!" A horn of ice just like the last one created instantaneously, launching itself right towards the assassin upon its creation. Tatsumi was still in mid-air as this occurred and thus had no means of avoiding the ice. Instead, he attacked it head on, holding the hilt of his blade with both hands and swinging with a straight downward vertical slash. Swish. He cut it in two; he split it right down the middle.

"Grauhorn!", the Ice Queen blurted out once more, almost no time having passed. Another horn of ice appeared, this one directly above Tatsumi's head.

The Incursio wielder glanced his eyes slightly upwards in that short instant. The ice was so close to impaling him that there was no time to slice it half as he had the previous projectile. He knew defense was his only option and responded by immediately using both of his hands to hold the broad side of his sword out above his head, blocking the horn at its pointed tip.

Tatsumi last second efforts prevented him being impaled, but the force of the attack was still great enough to forcefully send him hurling back down to the ground. He landed on his back, still blocking the ice horn as he touched the ground.

"Weissschnabel." The Ice Queen mercilessly pressed on the attack despite the vulnerable position he was in. More razor sharp icicles came flying at him, leaving him little choice but to swiftly roll over and prop up the ice horn he had blocked and crouch behind it, effectively shielding himself from being skewered.

Esdeath watched this with glee, delighted to see the extent of her love's athleticism as well as the success he was showing in dealing with techniques she usually only reserved for foes whom she wished to immediately dispose of. But she wanted to see more; much more. "Bühnensteuerung", she said, crouching down and placing her right hand firmly against the ground.

Tatsumi peaked his head from behind the horn of ice he had shielded himself behind, only to notice that ice was expanding all across the courtyard at a rapid pace. Seeing that the expanding ice was about to reach him, he jumped out of the way and onto an area that had already been covered.

It didn't take long, however, for the Ice Queen's latest technique to take effect. Within mere moments, everything within the entire courtyard was encased in thick solid sheets of ice; the ground, the statues, the trees, the grass, the walkways, the water fountains, the statues and even the walls.

The Incursio wielder looked around the newly changed environment with caution, wondering what purpose Esdeath's latest technique served. Surely there was one. There was no sign that she was just showing off and she had already made it clear that she would be going all out for the remainder of the battle. So then what was she up to?

A moment passed and his thoughts were interrupted by the slight sound of ice cracking beneath where he was standing; similar to how one walking on a frozen lake might hear cracks while walking across relatively thinner areas of ice. Another Grauhorn instantly flew out the ground, this one being a much darker shade of blue than the others. Tatsumi once again narrowly averted impalement, though not unscathed, if the fresh drops of blood were of any indication. It grazed the assassin's ankle.

"Grauhorn Grade 2", Esdeath said, before waving her left index finger in a peculiar motion. And just like that, a new Grauhorn spawned from the tip of the one that had just sprang out of the ground, once again on the verge of impaling its target. Tatsumi was more prepared for this one, however. He clenched Incursio's hilt with both of his hands, intent upon slicing through this ice horn just as he had a previous one. And with great speed and dexterity, he slashed right into it before it could stab him.

But something was wrong. Even though he connected, the Grauhorn didn't split in half. If anything, Tatsumi's swing had the same effect a small child would have in hitting a brick wall without a butter knife. Absolutely useless. Instead, Incursio ended up getting knocked right out of his hands; the short sword had slid across the ice-laden ground a couple of yards away.

"An eye for an eye, Tatsumi", Esdeath remarked, recalling how he had knocked her weapon out of her hands earlier.

Tatsumi looked towards his discarded weapon seemingly out of his reach. He stretched his right hand out towards it. As if there were some magnetic attraction between his hand and the weapons hilt, it flew right into his grasp on its own accord.

The Ice Queen watched this curious sight with gleaming fascination. "Oh ho, another new ability I take it. First the red glowing eyes, now this. And here I thought Incursio was just some gauche piece of armor for people with no sense of taste or imagination."

"Depending on how you look at it, Incursio is all about imagination." With his right hand alone, he jabbed the short sword into the ground before him and steadfastly held onto its hilt. He took on a pose reminiscent of the very first time he had ever activated his imperial arm. It was a scene much like the scene on that cruise ship he fought the Three beasts on all those months ago. The Night Raid assassin was surrounded by a thick and visible red aura.

None of this ruffled Esdeath however. She remained enthusiastic. " _His aura? It feels as if I'm standing in the presence of a full grown dragon. That's it, my love. Show me your true power_."

Incursio took on a metamorphosis unlike any it had ever shown. No new stylish set of armor or anything. Rather, the focus seemed entirely on the weapon. The short sword took on a different form and appearance. It became a claymore much like Ambassador Hartman's, only the actual blade was crimson red in color. Needless to say, the overall weapon was over twice as long as it had been in its short sword state. As soon as the weapon took form, Tatsumi hefted it up and slung it over his right shoulder while keeping his right hand clenched on the hilt.

"A new sword, eh? Looks a little too big for someone of your stature, Tatsumi."

To which the assassin smiled. "Looks can be deceiving."

"Indeed they CAN!", Esdeath retorted, simultaneously conjuring another dark blue Grauhorn out of the ground a few feet behind her adversary. It instantly sprang out of the ground, diagonally on the trajectory to impaling him in the back.

Tatsumi immediately spun around, firmly having latched both of his hands onto the claymore's hilt and swinging down towards the incoming horn of ice. He yet again connected before he could be hit. But strangely enough, his blade couldn't even muster a scratch. Instead, the force of the Grauhorn knocked his entire body back a couple of feet. Fortunately, he managed to maintain his footing as well as keep his sword from getting knocked out of his hands this time.

"How disappointing", the Ice Queen chimed. "After all that and you still can't even scrape my grade 2 ice. What are you going to do-"

She paused mid-sentence, noticing some strange behavior from her worthy adversary. Not only was he paying her no mind, but for one reason or another, he continued to hit the most recent Grauhorn with his blade, striking it with a series of speedy slashes. He had to have struck the ice at least 30 times, but still no scratches.

The Ice Queen was besides herself, unable to see what rhyme or reason Tatsumi could have in doing this. She had figured he would try and come after her directly upon realizing that her ice was too durable to be cut, but this was truly quite the quandary. What was he thinking? Had he gone mad? Was he upset that his sword was no more useful than it had been in its previous form? She observed him closely, but saw no sign of either of these things. The assassin was every bit as calm as he was at the start of the battle.

Part of her was curious to see what her love was up to. For a moment, she had considered standing idly by and letting him achieve whatever goal he was attempting to achieve. But those thoughts were quickly abandoned as her lusts for battle took command of her senses once more. "Here I come, Tatsumi!"

"Eisgefängnis Grade 2", she said while swiftly raising her left hand. A dark blue ice dome, the size of a polar igloo, instantly erected itself around Night Raid assassin, the ice moving much faster than any of the ice in Esdeath's previous attacks. Short of an instant, he escaped being sealed inside, vaulting himself into the air out of harm's way before it was too late.

"Weissschnabel Grade 2." Despite this attack command, however, Tatsumi saw no sign of the attack. On every prior use, the deadly icicles appeared around Esdeath upon being summoned; not this time however. Based on gut instinct alone, he turned his head, spotting a series of dark blue razor sharp icicles, all flying towards his backside.

He turned around, still in mid-air, swatting away the icicles to the best of his ability. Despite his efforts, however, he couldn't come out of this exchange unscathed. There were now multiple cuts on his legs and arms. Nothing deep or overtly debilitating, but the blood was noticeable.

The moment Tatsumi landed on the ground, he saw another dark blue Grauhorn spring out at him. He maneuvered himself out of the way, making sure to slash at the ice projectile as he dodged. Still no scratch. A litany of additional dark blue Grauhorns came springing at him, one by one, the assassin repeated himself each time: Dodge and hit.

This dodge and hit routine continued until the 9th Grauhorn came flying at him. Being well used to the timing at this point, he readily avoided getting skewered by it while simultaneously landing another hit. But . . . there was something different this time. He felt a cold feeling in his boots. The assassin looked down, only to notice that his boots were covered in dark blue ice. He tried to move, but it felt as if his feet were cemented to the ground.

Esdeath was sporting another sadistic smile. "Oops. Did I forgot to announce my attack? Kaninchenfalle Grade 2."

Not being blind to the adversity of his situation, Tatsumi promptly began slashing at the ice covering his boots. Despite his efforts, still no dents or scratches.

The Ice Queen raised her right hand into the air and snapped her fingers, "It's been fun, Tatsumi, but this is as far you go. Hagelsprung Grade Two!" A giant pillar of dark blue ice, looking similar to a piece of gigantic hail, appeared above the courtyard.

Tatsumi looked up towards the hulking mass of ice, noting that it was the same attack Esdeath had used to defeat that giant humanoid danger beast they had faced on that uninhabited island weeks ago. People outside the palace, soldiers and civilians alike, could see this massive piece of ice and were confounded by its sudden appearance.

Without notice, the 'Hagelsprung' plummeted down towards the Incursio wielder, the speed being so great as to leave a sonic boom in its trail. It instantly smashed into the ground loud enough to alert everyone in the palace. Esdeath herself stood by, not fazed by the sudden flux of air pressure breezing by as a result of her own attack. There was, however, multiple beads of sweat running down her forehead. Clearly, these techniques were taking their toll. But that didn't matter. She had won the battle . . . or so she had thought.

The Hagelsprung that was resting in the spot Tatsumi had been standing in suddenly split in half, vertically right down the middle. Bisected, the two pieces fell side to side and Tatsumi could be seen standing in the center with his claymore held out. Only the blade looked different now; it was covered in a focused and concentrated orange flame, much like the flames on a welder's oxygen acetylene cutting torch.

Baring witness to this, Esdeath looked genuinely amazed by the young assassin's feat. Perhaps there was more to Incursio than she initially suspected.

* * *

 **A/N:** Whoa. Seems Tatsumi has **really** leveled up big time, but is it enough to beat the strongest general in the empire? You'll have to stay tuned to find out! More explanation on their abilities will be given in due time, so be patient!

As to the battle of wits scenario between Run and Lubbock, I wonder if anyone gets the obscure reference. Also, I wouldn't recommend pointing out any flaws in the setup. Trust me, they're intentional and all part of the game between the two.

Once again, keep in mind the rules I'm submitting myself to, as per my explanation in the first chapter. Run's imperial arm's "dormant state" is my own personal addition. So is Adramalech being a prosthetic hook, but you already knew that!

Anyways, two more chapters to go! Possibly three if the epilogue ends up being long enough to warrant its own chapter (and knowing me, it'll probably will) Love it? Hate it? Meh? Lemme know what you think! As always, I appreciate your thoughts, both constructive and positive! Trolling too, provided you're at least clever about it! ;) As always, thanks for reading!


	16. Kill the End Game - Part Two

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 **A/N:** We've once again made our way to another new chapter! My apologies about the delay! I realize I broke my once per month deadline folks, but being a criminal defense attorney can be brutal sometimes. I definitely intend to have this fic finished before the year ends though, so no worries. This fic won't get lost in hiatus hell. As always, thanks for the favorites and reviews folks, readers!

Before we get started, just a few points to note:

 **#1.** A big shoutout to the guest reviewers! I'm unable to respond to you guys directly via PM, so I do so here. Thanks for reading guys/gals.

As to **NDC** , thanks for the detailed review! I have been slowly going back to previous chapters and editing the inexcusable grammatical and syntactical errors I've left behind. I intend to make such corrections for every chapter prior to finishing the fic, so this fic might be worth rereading for some of you. I'm a strong advocate of chekov's gun, so everything I've mentioned throughout the fic serves a purpose and will be addressed by the final chapter! As to Esdeath and Tatsumi's relationship and any related plot resolutions, all I can say is . . . chekov's gun baby! I'm not going to spoil the ending, but I intend to do everything I can to make these final chapters a good read.

 **#2.** This is more of a style point, but I'll clarify in case anyone is confused about it. Anytime I write a flashback, all of the dialogue is in italics. This is to reflect that a character is recalling events in their mind. In other words, I see it no different than when a character is simply in the process of expressing ta thought. There, I also do italics.

And awwwwwwaaaaay we go!

* * *

 _ **Episode 29: Kill the End Game: Part Two**_

Esdeath stood in silence as she continued to observe her beloved. Her mind had been racing, attempting to comprehend his latest feat. " _I was sure I had him just now. Trapping his legs with my Kaninchenfalle and following up with a Hagelsprung? A foolproof combination that would have made any other battle far too one-sided, with or without grade two ice. To think I was just about to chastise myself for getting so carried away._ "

Unfortunately, there was no more time to reflect on the matter at hand. Like the flash on a camera, Tatsumi was suddenly in front of her with his claymore in a striking posture; he was in the middle of a horizontal swing with both hands firmly clinching the hilt. His sudden speed, his sudden movement, his sudden initiative: These things would have startled any other warrior, but not Esdeath. She was beaming like a madwoman, beaming with sheer excitement at how she was less than a foot away from death. The sheer thrill of it all. But a foot was all the Ice Queen needed. "

"Aufzug!", she said as an ice pillar instantly sprang out from the ground she was standing upon and carried her high into the air. Her ice pillar not only allowed her to narrowly avert Tatsumi's swing, but it also shot her ten stories into the air within a single second. But by that time, she just about lost her balance; she felt her ice pillar tumbling over like a tree that had just been chopped down with an axe. She readily leapt into the air while uttering the words "Stratus Wolke." In response to her command, a thin and floating ice platform, no more than two yards in length, was conjured into the air beneath her feet.

Tatsumi was standing next to the ice pillar he had just cut down; he looked up into the air, his eyes locked on the Ice Queen. Holding his blade in another striking posture, he maneuvered another quick and powerful two handed swing in his adversary's vicinity.

Esdeath raised an eyebrow, unsure of what her love was trying to accomplish. "Don't tell me this is your way of showing off.", she chuckled, amused at how he was swinging at nothing but the air in front of him. "I'll be the first to admit that the way you managed to avoid getting crushed by my Hagelsprung was impressive, but this fight is just getting . . . started?" She had paused for a moment before uttering that last word.

The Ice Queen noticed a few strands of her own hair descending to the ground. She grabbed them before they were beyond her reach; she closely scrutinized them while running her free hand through the hair on her scalp. " _These strands . . . they aren't just falling out for no reason. They were cut just now_." She glanced back down towards Tatsumi, instantly putting two and together. " _That last swing of his. It must've been . . ._ "

Gazing upon Tatsumi as well as the sliced hair stands in her hand served as a catalyst to dredge up thoughts of the distant past. Thoughts of the days she used to spend hunting danger beasts with her father. Thoughts of a time when she was no more than ten years old. Thoughts of one particular night with her father were flashing throughout her mind. They had set up camp like always and she had been fast asleep.

Esdeath remembered waking up in the middle of the night, having heard the cries of a ferocious beast outside. She had looked around her tent; no sign of her father. She promptly ran outside equipped with nothing more than a short sword. But as soon as she stepped out, she stood still in awe. It was all so astounding that she could barely believe what had just transpired.

A wooly mammoth like danger beast had been charging towards the campsite, perhaps feeling that its territory had been intruded upon. Her father boldly and unnervingly stood in front of the tent, eyes focused on the incoming threat. With a longsword in his hands, he swung the blade diagonally in the danger beasts' direction and a sharp a precise gust of air flew towards it. Despite having been well over 20 yards away, the beast suddenly fell down on its side; it was slain in an instant.

" _Papa!_ ", she had exclaimed, excitedly tugging on her father's shirt. " _How did you do that?!_ "

To which her old man had answered while sheathing his blade into the scabbard on his side. " _Huh. You're awake. That's a shame. I was trying to keep that beast from waking you up. Had I known you would wake up regardless, I would've tried capturing it alive. Class One Alpha mammoths are worth a lot more gold pieces alive than dead._ "

" _Sorry papa_ ", she had said, averting her eyes to the ground to hide the sudden look of guilt and disappointment in her eyes. " _If I hadn't insisted on coming along, then . ._."

" _You did nothing wrong"_ , he had said, turning around, placing his left hand on her head and gently rubbing it " _The mistake was mine. We'll capture the next danger beast together_."

She remembered having looked up into her father's eyes, only to be taken aback by the most endearing warm, bright, pure and innocent smile she had ever seen. Just the sight of this caused her to blush; the look on her father's face not only washed away her guilt and disappointment in an instant, but it had also brightened her spirits. " _I can't wait! In the meantime, can you teach me that attack you used?_ "

To which her father had laughed cheerfully at the thought. " _You've still got a ways to go before you start using techniques like this one. You don't even know how to control your aura yet. I'll tell you what though: The day you beat me in a sparring match, I'll be glad to show you._ "

Back in the immediate present, having put these realizations together, the Ice Queen was visibly amused. Not mockingly or denigratingly of course, but perhaps to the sudden sense of nostalgia she was feeling. "Well done, Tatsumi. To think you'd know one of the few techniques of my father's that I've never been able to replicate. Your accuracy isn't as good as his though. If my father were using that attack, he would've been able to lop my head off just now. Unfortunately for you, I have no intention of lowering my guard again. So for your sake, I pray you have other tricks up your sleeve."

Consistent with his characteristics throughout the duel thus far, Tatsumi remained calm and unnerving. "For someone who has been forced to hover into the air, you sure sound pretty confident."

Perhaps a lesser warrior would stop to consider the merits of such a remark, in turn allowing their confidence to dwindle. The Ice Queen, however, was unfazed; hearing such a comment merely sparked another smirk on her lips. "In all the time you've known me, have I ever been lacking in confidence? You've done pretty well to survive my attacks thus far; I'll give you that much. But I'll have you know that I have never had to use my imperial arm as anything more than a convenient tool for dispatching annoying pests. You could say I've been improving throughout this contest between you and I; learning the ins and outs of how to use Demon's Extract against an opponent of your caliber."

Suddenly, Tatsumi turned his head towards the large set of double doors Najenda and Lubbock had entered earlier. He heard the pitter and patter of many footsteps drawing near. The doors had burst wide open and a number of armed palace guards had come rushing onto the scene, no doubt having heard the loud crash that had accompanied Esdeath's Haglesprung minutes ago.

"That man is a member of Night Raid! We must protect General Esdeath!", one of guards yelled.

"Fire!", another guard yelled before pointing his rifle at Tatsumi. Four additional guards did the same, all pointing their rifles at the assassin in their midst.

"Weisschnabel!" Razor sharp icicles immediately skewered every guard that had their rifles trained on Tatsumi before they could even pull the trigger, leaving the remaining guards much too fearful to take the same course of action.

The Ice Queen looked down upon this craven bunch, murderous intent in her eyes. "Do not interfere! This man is my prey! I require no assistance."

Having no desire to disobey the general, the remaining guards rushed back through the doors they bursted in through. All the while, their presence had caused a thought to occur to Tatsumi. " _Huh. It looks like they've finally realized we're already in the palace. That gives us even less time to pull this off."_

"Sorry about that distraction, my love", the Ice Queen said, having set her sights back on her adversary. "Shall we pick up where we left off?"

Tatsumi's calm demeanor remained unchanged. With just his right hand wrapped around the hilt, he pointed his sword up towards Esdeath. "Your move."

"Now who's getting confident?", the Ice Queen replied, referencing his earlier remark. Wasting not another moment on idle banter, she maneuvered both of her hands with swift and vicious hand gestures. "Grauhorn Grade 2: Bienenstock."

Large and dark blue horns of ice all sprang out from both the courtyard walls and the ground, flying at Tatsumi from a plethora of directions. Despite the increased size of his weapon, however, he was still perfectly capable of executing quick and precise movements, allowing him to slice and dice every single grauhorn with a few revolving swings as if they had all been cut down simultaneously.

" _Seems he's even faster than he was earlier."_

Another dark blue grauhorn had sprung out of the ground nearby in a diagonal direction. But unlike every preceding ice horn projectile, this one was accompanied by its own miniature sonic boom. It got dangerously close to blindsiding Tatsumi from the side before he noticed and bisected it with another swing of his fiery blade.

Two additional grauhorns came flying at him, both leaving behind miniature sonic booms in their wake. Tatsumi moved so quickly in cutting them down that an ordinary pair of human eyes wouldn't be able to tell that the back of his neck was scraped in the process, but Esdeath yet again proved herself to be exceptional.

She smirked at the sight, believing she merely needed to continue applying pressure; that her beloved Tatsumi could not keep up this pace forever. And she did just that, firing more and more mach speech ice projectiles, slowly upping the tempo at every interval. " _It's only a matter of time._ "

The dance continued just like this for a full five minutes of no interruptions. And with just a little more effort and concentration, the grauhorns were flying out of the ground and the walls at speeds even she couldn't register with her eyes. However, it was with these very eyes that she noticed something. Despite the time that had passed and despite her best efforts, Tatsumi was still evading her attacks. Not just that, but he appeared to be doing so with even less effort as time progressed. It was quickly becoming a proverbial game of whack-a-mole, with the Ice Queen having no luck whatsoever. " _My grauhorns are faster. There's no doubt about that. And yet he continues to move as if . . ._ "

Esdeath tried her best to tag the Night Raid assassin, but her efforts were gradually showing themselves to be of no use. Showing no signs of strain or exhaustion, he continued shifting from one spot to another, averting each and every grauhorn that sprang his way. Even more curious, however, was that throughout his display of superhuman athleticism and agility was his eyes; those eyes, those calm red eyes, had been locked on the Ice Queen throughout this entire affair " _. . . as if he knows where the grauhorns will be before they are fired._ "

No longer content with dodging alone, Tatsumi changed course. Out of the blue, he blitzed his way his way towards the courtyard wall that was closest to where the Ice Queen was hovering. While dodging additional mach paced ice projectiles, he did the unthinkable: He ran up the wall, moving so fast that even gravity was but a mere afterthought.

" _That must be it!"_ , Esdeath thought, still maintaining her constant stream of grauhorns. " _It all makes sense now! Those red eyes of his. He's been using them to read and adapt to my movements from the start. That's how he's been anticipating my attacks so well. He must have relied upon the same tactic to anticipated the strikes from my rapier earlier._ "

The very instant Tatsumi had ran twelve stories up the courtyard wall, he bent his knees, drastically decreased his upward momentum and jumped downward towards the Ice Queen. He had both of his hands wrapped around the hilt and his eyes reflected absolute certainty.

Esdeath responded with another grade 2 grauhorn, moving at mach speed like all of the other recent ones, but emitted out of neither the walls or the ground; this one manifested itself out of the thin air next to her.

Tatsumi remained undaunted however. Like the preceding grauhorns, this one was child's play to him at this point. He cleaved it in two, right down the middle with another quick and precise two handed swing, emerging from the debris and descending even closer to Esdeath . . . mere feet away from apparent victory. After all, what else did she have in her arsenal that he hadn't already conquered?

But the next moment occurred so quickly that it could only be measured by the sound that accompanied it. Clang; the sound of one blade colliding against another blade could be heard. Immediately afterwards, both Tatsumi and Esdeath descended towards the ground, the latter no longer standing on her ice platform.

They both landed at the same time, backs facing each other. Tatsumi took a moment to rub one of his cheeks, having noticed blood dripping from a fresh cut there. He turned around, wanting to see for himself what had cut him. It was then that he noticed something irregular; Esdeath was holding a small dagger sized spike of ice in her left hand. Only the ice was unlike any of the ice he had seen thus far. It was devoid of light and color; blackness was all it emanated.

Another ice platform appeared next to the Ice Queen; this one the size of a dinner platter. Her long rapier that had been knocked away earlier was resting on it. She eagerly grabbed her prized weapon before turning around to face her beloved. Though more beads of sweat had accumulated on her forehead, the look on her face was one Tatsumi least expected.

She still looked quite happy, but all of the bloodthirsts and maniacal glee had vanished without a trace. All that remained was a simple smile emanating with fond sincerity. Tatsumi took note of her change in demeanor, having paused to gaze upon her for several moments before finally speaking up. "I never thought I'd see you like this in the middle of a battle."

"There's something rather comforting about being pushed to the brim like this, wouldn't you agree? To actually have to fight with every fiber of my being and still be uncertain about the outcome of a battle? Why it's something I haven't felt since the days of my endless spars with my father. As he always said, the strong live and the weak die. It would seem that for once, I stand at the precipice of strength and weakness. Perhaps this is what I've longed for since his death."

"I'm surprised you have a stronger grade of ice in your arsenal", he replied, having noticed the same otherworldly black ice suddenly envelope the blade on Esdeath's long rapier. "To have saved it until now, I'm guessing it takes an even greater toll on your body than grade 2."

"Those red eyes of yours allow you to be very perceptive, don't they?"

Tatsumi nodded his head. "Ever since you started using your grade 2 ice, I noticed you've been breathing harder. You're even starting to sweat"

"I suspected as much, but now I'm certain. Those eyes of yours have enhanced your visual acuity immeasurably. I take great pride in my own eye sight, but mine is merely the pinnacle of what the human body allows. Yours has gone far beyond human. You used them to observe my sword techniques and now even my ice techniques, right? You are able to see even the slightest of subtleties in my movements and anticipate what I'm about to do before I do it."

"More or less."

"Yet still, your red eyes only tell part of the story. I believe I finally understand how you suddenly gained the ability to cut through my grade 2 ice and why your sword burns with such intense and concentrated fire. Oh yes, ever since our battle last week, I've done my research on your imperial arm and the ultra-class danger beast its powers are attributed to. I know all about the Tyrant and its ability to adapt no matter what environment it inhabits. Based on what I've seen from you, I surmise that you've somehow figured out how to focus the Tyrant's adaptive powers into a single weapon. That is why you went to great lengths to keep hitting my ice with that sword of yours even when it seemed pointless. Slowly but surely, Incursio had been adapting to it, shifting into a form suitable enough to actually cut through otherwise unbreakable ice. In other words, you've sacrificed the balanced amount of offense and defense your armor had offered you in exchange for a pure offense, virtually making you a glass canon. Am I right?"

"If you've figured all of this out, I take it that black ice of yours is your ace in the hole."

Esdeath nodded while assertively pointing her long rapier towards Tatsumi's head. "Dämon Zahn Grade 3."

"Grade 3?"

"Ice so dense and concentrated that even light itself cannot penetrate it." Suddenly, the ice spike she had been holding in her left hand had molded into the form of a small shield shaped very much like a medieval buckler. "Although this is the most I can produce without over-exerting myself, it shall suffice."

"I don't understand. You just admitted I know how to anticipate your sword techniques. Knowing that, why would you yet again resort to them?"

"Who knows?", she said with mock coyness. "Feel free to come over here and find out."

Tatsumi slipped into the Ochs stance once more; he horizontally held the hilt besides his head using both of his hands and the tip of his blade was also horizontally pointed towards Esdeath's chest.

And for the next several moments, neither combatant made a move. Neither moved a muscle; both locked in their respective stances. This degree of caution was unusual for the Ice Queen. Perhaps it had something to do with her slight change in demeanor. Or perhaps it was indicative of how dangerous an opponent she believed Tatsumi truly was.

Whatever the case, the flow of the battle had changed once again. And like a black mamba seizing its prey, Esdeath suddenly jotted forward towards her beloved with a powerful thrust from her long rapier. Tatsumi blocked, but without taking a step back as he had when Incursio had been in its short sword form; now that it was in the form of a claymore, Esdeath no longer had the advantage of superior reach.

The Ice Queen pressed onwards with her assault with several additional quick and powerful thrusts. They all moved so quickly, that an ordinary human would be of the impression that it was all one move. Tatsumi, however, knew better. Not just due to his insight eyesight, but his newfound keen intuition.

The nature and purpose of Esdeath's aggressive style was elementary to Tatsumi at this point; she sought to force her opponent to focus on defending themselves so that she could surgically find whatever gap existed in their defenses and rip them apart when they least expected it. Just as he thoroughly understood her swordplay, however, he also knew how to overcome it; merely by anticipating the moment she would seize the gap in his defenses, he could respond with a lethal counter-attack, which is how he had managed to knock her sword out of her hands during their earlier go-around.

As Esdeath pressed onwards with another thrust, Tatsumi prepared to do just that. Having so thoroughly understood her fighting style at this point, he knew what she was about to do. She fully extended her right arm and the tip of her rapier came flying right towards his forehead while the blade glided alongside his burning claymore. He immediately lifted his blade, intent on knocking the Ice Queen's weapon out of her hand and disarming her once more.

But Esdeath was more prepared this time. As he lifted his blade, Esdeath used the buckler on her left hand to obstruct Tatsumi from lifting it as he had before. This gave the Ice Queen just another time to reel her rapier in and take multiple steps back, but not before sneaking in a quick small cut her to her beloved's upper right arm.

Tatsumi glanced down at his arm for a moment to observe the cut. It wasn't a deep wound, much less was it life threatening; it was a glancing blow at best. Rather, he saw the cut as a message. Esdeath had changed her fighting style just enough to make his previous analysis useless. The cut was just her way of confirming this. With a small but brief smile appearing on his own lips, Tatsumi adjusted his stance once more. He held his sword out in front of him with the blade pointed diagonally and both of his hands clenched tightly around the hilt.

* * *

 **[. . . _Leaps in Logic_ . . . ]**

* * *

At their chess table, Lubbock sat patiently, arms folded across each other and a confident smirk on his lips. Run's posture was identical; both of them looked as if they already knew to how prevail in this battle of wits. The only question was who was right and who was going to die.

"So, just to be clear . . .", said Run. "If I pull one of these gloves, it'll cause your wires to split the floor directly beneath me apart and cause me to fall to my death. On the other hand, the other glove will cause your wires to split the floor directly beneath you apart. In other words, one of these gloves is a death trap and the other is not."

To which Lubbock casually replied. "That's right."

"But it's so simple: Are you the sort of man who would put a death trap in his own glove?", Run said, glancing towards the cross-tail glove closest to his adversary. "Or the glove of his enemy? Now a clever man would place the trap in his own glove, knowing that on some psychological level, only a great fool would be inclined to reach for what he was given. Ergo, that would be reason to pick the glove in front of me."

"Wouldn't I have already known you weren't a great fool? When I asked you whether you were a smart guy, your answer was yes."

"My answer was that I was too modest to boast. Still am."

"That sounds like a yes to me", Lubbock said with a chuckle. "Besides, if I thought you were a great fool, I wouldn't have challenged you to a battle of wits; I would have stuck to conventional battle tactics. So by your own logic, the trap would be in your glove, not mine."

"Not necessarily. All it would indicate is that you took into account what you know about me prior to setting this game up."

"And what do I know about you that could've possibly allowed me to predict which glove you would choose?"

To which Run replied, "Ever since our first encounter in Ali Jinnah, you've known that I'm highly observant to details. That is how I was able to see through your tricks then and it is how I am able to see through them for now. For example, I know the very premise of this game is full of holes."

"Holes such as?"

"Supposing I was to pull the glove that leads to your demise, if you already know which glove is which, you surely wouldn't just sit there and allow yourself to fall to your death. You're not the honorable type; you would immediately get up and try to stop me. On the other hand, were I pull the glove that leads to my demise, I would immediately know which glove was which based on your refusal to stop me. Moreover, even if I do fall, there's nothing stopping me from quickly grabbing my rings, putting them back and using Mastema to fly to safety"

"If that's all your worried about, let me relieve of your concern by doing this." The green haired assassin promptly raised both of his hands straight into the air. "There. Now even if I do try to cheat, if you pull the right glove quick enough, I won't be able to react in time. This should also prevent you from cheating. As long as you're forced to pull one of the gloves quickly, you won't have time to grab and activate your imperial arm either."

"Not bad, but that doesn't address the other holes in this game."

Beaming with indifference, Lubbock shrugged his shoulders. "Mention as many hole you like. We can rectify each and every one of them before you make your decision."

"Hmm", Run muttered, rubbing his chin in an inquisitive fashion. "What's stopping me from getting up and walking away? Seems I would risk nothing in abandoning a game of chance."

"We covered this before the game. The reason we agreed to settle our fight like this was to avoid allowing things like chance and reflexes to determine the winner. If you get up, I'm just going to put my gloves back on and pick up where we left off."

"I see. And how do I even know pulling one of these gloves will lead to your demise? For all I know, you've rigged the game as such that no matter which glove I pull, I will fall and you will sit safely by. How can you assure me that this isn't the case?

"Easy. I'll temporarily lower my right hand and grab the glove closest to me. You'll do the same with your glove We'll lift them both up at a 90-degree angle by precisely one millimeter at the exact same time and see for ourselves what happens."

"Why one millimeter?"

"Because it's the maximum tension cross tail's wires can take in this position without either of us falling into the bottomless pit below. I know you've seen me operate cross-tail enough times to know that I'm not lying."

Run nodded his head before resting one hand on the glove closest to him. "Very well."

And so the two did just that; they both gently tugged their gloves by a millimeter and at the exact same time. Despite the immense restrain they both showed in moving their respective gloves, they both each noticed the floor beneath their respective chairs shift just enough to where it was obvious that pulling both gloves any further would cause both of them to fall to their deaths. Lubbock then promptly let go of his glove and raised his right hand back into the air.

Run let go of his glove of his well, not wishing to risk his own death trifling with it in an unnecessary fashion. "Hmmph, so then the gloves really do function as you say and you really are risking your life in playing this game?"

"That's the plan! So, have you reached your decision?"

"There must be more to this game than meets the eye. What possible information could you have to reasonable deduce which glove I would pull in a scenario like this?"

To which Lubbock responded after letting out another chuckle. "That's for me to know and for you to figure out. So choose already. I've got places to be yah know!"

" _The glove in front of me or the glove in front of him? Which could he possibly have chosen and what would be his reason for choosing?"_

"Time is a-wastin'. Are you going to choose or is my game too tough for you?"

"Very well", Run replied with a defiant smirk. "I choose . . ."

* * *

[ **. . . _The Fratricidal Descent_ . . . ** ]

* * *

Akame glanced down towards the earth below, noticing that she was so high up in the air that the entire imperial palace looked like nothing more than a child's dollhouse. Oxygen was becoming more or more limited by the second. She had inhaled as much as she could before holding her breath, realizing that breathing in the conventional sense would surely lead to her passing out just as Kurome intended.

She then continued her climb up towards the dragon's neck, mentally noting to herself that she needed to focus on taking down Kurome and nothing else. Not the height she was at, not her oxygen situation or even the cold air at the current altitude.

Kurome, on the other hand, appeared to be content. She sat on her dragon's neck with one hand clenched around the sheathe of her imperial arm, the thumb firmly pressed against the guard on the hilt. She was clearly waiting on her older sister to approach. Akame's eyes widened as she noticed this. What's more, Kurome didn't appear to be even remotely affected by the drastic change in altitude and temperature.

All of the sudden, the red eyed assassin's eyes had slowly shut; it was as if she had drifted off after a long and hard day's work. Her grip around the dragon's scales loosened considerably by the moment and she slid down to the tip of its tail.

Kurome turned her head, curious to see how her plan to defeat her sister without fighting her had unfolded. To her surprise, however, she saw no sign of her older sister. This prompted her to look away from her puppet's tail and down towards the air below. There, she spotted Akame descending down towards the ground like a lifeless ragdoll. "There you are."

Her dragon swiftly did a vertical u-turn, diving down towards Akame both to save her from her oncoming peril as well as deliver her to its master. It took no more than a few seconds for the beast to reach its falling target. It flew in such a way as to allow Kurome to grab hold of her falling sister as she fell. And so she did. Kurome had stretched out her left hand.

But at that very moment, Akame's eyes flew wide open and Kurome immediately understood that her falling was never more than a clever ruse to get her guard down. The younger sister reached for her sword with her other hand, but Akame's blade was already out and flying towards her jugular. A destination every assassin worth their salt instinctively sought out during an assassination.

Kurome scarcely blocked her sister's swing with the broad side of yatsufusa. No doubt the result of her having telepathically ordered her dragon to veer inches away at the last second. Even so, it wasn't quite enough. She may have blocked, but the force of her older sister's swing sent her tumbling off her puppet and into the air.

Akame was far from finished with her assault however. She temporarily accelerated the momentum of her fall by diving down towards her sister before continuing her attacks with a downward vertical slash. More prepared for her sister's attack this time, Kurome was able to parry and return a slash of her own. To which Akame of course parried with no trouble whatsoever.

It was truly testament to their skills as swordswomen. Just about anyone else would be more concerned about their rapid descent towards the ground, but the two sisters went back and forth with their blades as if they were in no such peril; as if they were standing on the ground; as if they were the two best students squaring off in a dojo.

Perhaps Kurome had justification for her fearlessness. As she had demonstrated back in Ali Jinnah, as long as she had a puppet in play, her trump card permitted her to cheat death at the loss of said puppet. Akame's fearlessness, however, was more perplexing. Had she become so devoted to killing her own sister that even her final mission and death itself were of no consequence?

As moments passed, Akame looked to be getting the best of her younger sister in their exchange. She certainly had the edge in skill, but there was something else that gave her an inherent edge against just about any opponent she faced. One cut; one nick; one scrape. It didn't take much, but that's all it took for her to end a battle when she was wielding Murasame. Kurome's mind may have been deteriorating, but she was still mindful enough to pay extra caution to her sister's blade. Unfortunately, this kept her on the defense and was allowing Akame to gradually overwhelm her with a series of complicated sword strikes.

Like a diver desperate for air, she plunged towards the surface to speak; she telepathically summoned the dragon to catch her and inadvertently her sister, completely breaking the pace of their midair duel. They both tumbled around on the dragon's back for a few moments before regaining their footing, Akame a half-second slower than Kurome due to the latter's experience in riding this beast.

As soon as she was comfortable with her footing, Kurome zeroed in on her older sister, ready to continue their exchange. Akame attempted to do the same, but immediately detected that something was wrong. Her balance! She was having trouble maintaining it. As Kurome swooped in, the red eyed assassin could do nothing more than block; scarcely at that. In a surprising turnabout fashion, it was now Akame who was on the defensive, despite the advantage Murasame offered her.

The older sister quickly took notice of how comfortable and balanced Kurome's movements were. As she continued to block, she wondered why this was the case. Why her sister was not having trouble securing sure footing like she was having. But as she watched the way her sister moved, the answer hit her like a block of cement. Kurome was telepathically controlling her dragon's every move (no matter how slight) in such a way as keep her balance perfectly maintained.

Still narrowly blocking Kurome's swings, Akame gritted her teeth, realizing that she couldn't allow the battle to progress in this fashion; defeating her younger sister was impossible at the rate they were going. After yet another block, the red eyed assassin pivoted herself a few steps backward, bringing the exchange to a temporary impasse.

Kurome took note of her sister's sudden evasive maneuver and a gleeful smile formed on her lips. "Already accepting the inevitable, sis?"

"Hey Kurome, the last time we fought, you said that my poison would not work on your puppets, right?"

To which the younger sister nodded with innocent glee. "Totally useless. Even if you could pierce my dragon's scales, it wouldn't do you any good."

"Poison won't work . . .", Akame replied, before biting the tip of her left thumb hard enough to bleed. She then rested the tip of her left thumb again edge of Murasame's blade. "But how about . . . acid?"

Kurome's eyes widened and she looked rather frantic at her older sister's seemingly bizarre behavior. "Wait a minute, sis! What are you doing? If you're giving up, that's fine, but don't kill yourself! Let me finish you off! It'll just take a second."

Akame shook her head in disagreement of such a notion while slightly pressing the tip of thumb down against her blade. "No one said anything about killing themselves. Instead, I think it's high time I acquainted you with Murasame's trump card: Unholy Curse."

Green ethereal markings appeared all along Mursame's blade, much to Kurome's curiosity. She didn't really understand what was transpiring, but saw no reason for panic given that a mere sword enhancement wouldn't change the flow of the battle. After all, as long as she had absolute control over her dragon, she was the one with all the cards in her hand.

But at the very next movement, that comfort was tossed aside as Akame did something with overwhelming recklessness. She plunged Mursame down into the dragon's back. A clang was heard, indicating that she didn't pierce its scales, much to Kurome's relief. And yet despite this, something uncanny occurred: The same green ethereal markings that had covered her sword had been transferred to the dragon. Within mere moments, the markings had spread across the ultra class' beasts' entire body.

Kurome gritted her teeth in frustration as her puppet was beginning to fly erratically despite her telepathic control. "What did you do?!", she growled.

"Look for yourself", Akame replied, pointing down towards the dragon's scales.

The young sister gazed upon her pet, shocked to see that its body was . . . melting. It was as if the green ethereal markings were associated with a powerful corrosive of some sort. A pure and otherworldly corrosive perhaps potent enough to melt anything it touches. But Akame had never brandished such a technique in the past. " _Why only use this now_?", Kurome had wondered.

* * *

 **[. . . . _Not So Different_ . . . .]**

* * *

Wave arose from the bookcase he had been knocked into, having shaken off the pain of the devastating and consecutive blows Leone had landed despite the durability of his armor. He glared at her through his helmet, not so much concerned with her newfound strength, but rather something else. "This person you said I couldn't handle. It's Tatsumi, isn't it?"

"You didn't think we'd come in here without a way to deal with Esdeath, did you?"

"You're bluffing. I've fought Tatsumi twice now. He's strong, but he's not that strong."

Hearing this prompted Leone to laugh, amused by a memory Wave's words had uncovered from the dredges of her mind. She recalled a time months ago, when Bulat was still alive. They were having a drink at the wood table in the lounge area of the old Night Raid hideout. Leone recalled having heard Tatsumi outside in the midst of training with a practice sword. " _Be honest, Bulat"_ , she had asked him before taking a swig of alcohol right out the bottle. " _I know Tatsumi has been getting better and all, but do you really think he's cut out for this line of work? After what happened to Sheele, I can't bare seeing it happen to anyone else."_

Having had a cheerful look on his face, Bulat had taken a sip of beer out of his mug before setting it back on the table. " _Tatsumi has still got a lot to figure out, but I can see that he has amazing potential. If we do a good job training him, maybe he can even improve enough to surpass me one of these days. I can't wait to see what he does!"_

She recalled having raised an eyebrow in disbelief at such a suggestion. _"Whoa there. This is gonna sound weird coming from me, but I think you might've had a little too much to drink. I mean sure . . . the kid has got potential, but surpass you? The hundred-man slayer? Are you being serious?"_

The look in Bulat's eyes had instantly gone from jolly to stern. " _Dead serious. I first noticed it during one our training sessions. It was after Akame had killed Zanku the Executioner. He told me how that battle went and I was trying to teach him what to do when you've got no choice but to fight an opponent way outside your league. I was really pushing and overwhelming him, trying to teach him how to stay calm focused no matter how grim a situation looked. And then the craziest thing happened: All of the sudden, he knocked my practice spear out of my hands and broke a few of my ribs with his practice sword."_

" _No way!",_ Leone had gasped.

" _It all happened so fast that I could scarcely believe what had just happened. But I'll tell you something else. The look on his eyes as all this had happened: They weren't the look of someone who had gotten lucky; he was eerily calm as if what had just happened was no big deal. I asked him how he pulled off such sweet moves, but when he replied, he was his normal self again and didn't even remember what he had done."_

" _What do you think happened?"_

" _Lets just say you haven't quite seen the real Tatsumi, yet. I don't think any of us have. I think that beneath all of that naiveté, nervousness and inexperience lies a genius of the likes we've never seen._ "

Back in the present, Leone knew just what to say to Wave's skepticism. "You've never the fought the real Tatsumi."

"Is that so?", he replied, his interest piqued.

"Damn right."

"Huh. Lets say you weren't bluffing. What does any of that have to do with me? Last time I checked, I was fighting you, not him. If he's fighting the commander, then I've got nothing to worry about."

"Because I'm warning you."

"Warning me?", Wave said with indignation. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that what you're doing is pointless. I like you, so it would suck if you didn't get out of here while you could. I don't want to have to kill you and even if you were to somehow get past me, you'll never get past Tatsumi once he deals with Esdeath. For your own good, leave! Our boss' plan is foolproof, so you're fighting a losing battle no matter how you look at it."

"Even if what you said were true, if I were to run now, it would mean abandoning my friends."

"So take them with you!"

"Neither of them would ever back down to you guys. Besides, I won't abandon the commander either. And I'm definitely not gonna let you guys assassinate anyone else."

Leone narrowed her eyes, visibly annoyed at her opponent's unyielding spirit. "Quit being stupid! I'm a hell of a lot different than I was last time! Give up!"

"You're the one who's stupid if you think I'm gonna give up!", Wave exclaimed before jumping into the air towards the ceiling and readying his signature drop kick. "Grand Fall!"

"Fine, you asked for it!" Leone swiftly rotated the buckle on her imperial arm by 180 degree. The moment she did this, she went into a speedy metamorphosis that consisted of her taking on more animalistic characteristics. She now had a pair of vampire like fangs sticking out of her mouth. Her tail had gotten two feet longer and had obtained more girth. Her claws on her paws had increased several inches in length and looked a lot more intimidating. Her boots had been torn asunder due to her feet having become lion-like; claws and everything. Her arms and legs were a bit more muscular. Even her demeanor had taken on a drastic change; She was growling in a feral fashion.

Despite his foe's sudden transformation, Wave remained undeterred and proceeded with his attack; he swooped in for his deadly and infamous drop kick. But still growling like a wild animal, Leone countered him head on, unexpectedly catching his leading foot with her tail and using his own momentum to spin around and send him flying back into another bookcase.

The Grand Chariot wielder sprung back on his feet and bolted right back at his opponent determined not to back down. Leone did the same, only she was now running on her paws and her feet much like a lion in hot pursuit of its prey. As they were within each other's range, Wave opened up with a flying sidekick, but Leone leaped over him to get out of the way.

Before he knew it, Wave realized that she had wrapped her tail around his throat. In spite of the protection his armor offered him, he could feel the pressure growing around his throat; it felt like he had been ensnared by a python, an anaconda or a boa constrictor. He desperately attempted to break free of her vice-like grip, but her tail wouldn't budge.

Wave did the only thing he could think of under the circumstances. He flew into the air and flew straight through the ceiling. Leone immediately released her adversary from her grip, instead opting to grab one of his legs with her paws and throw him down onto the floor; she knew better than to allow him to fly her high into the sky.

The Jaegar had been thrown into the floor with such force that there were large and noticeable hairline cracks all alongside him. As he was about to get back up, Leone landed on top of him and pinned his arms down with her knees much like Tatsumi had done to that goblin-like danger beast a week ago. Then, just like her Night Raid companion, she began to rain down vicious ground & pound MMA styled blows.

From Wave's point of view, he was no longer facing that flirtatious assassin with good intentions, but rather a wild animal ignorant of restraint. Her primal snarls, her ferocious growls and the feral look in her eyes. It was beyond obvious that there was only one thing on Leone's mind at the moment: Kill. And at the rate things were going, the Jaegar knew he would be killed.

Like Incursio's fullbody armor, he knew that his armor only offered so much protection and he could feel the concussive force of her blows through his protective helmet. He even noticed traces of his own blood on Leone's fist, indicating some of his own blood was already leaking out the armor. It was at this point that things started to go black. Complete blackness soon thereafter. That's all there was from his point of view.

Leone pounded his head for a full minute, only to come to a sudden halt afterwards. She noticed something unexpected; Wave was no longer moving. She gently tugged his helmet back and forth, looking for a response, but didn't sense any. She placed one of her feline ears against his chest to listen for a heartbeat, but didn't hear one. "Warned you", she muttered with a frustrated and upset growl. "Stupid. Didn't listen."

Seeing that their battle was over, she got up off of the vanquished Jaegar's lifeless body and began walking towards the door. There was no sign of the emperor, thus no further reason for her to stick around in that room. She took three steps away from Wave's body, only to pause dead in her tracks. Her feline ears had tingled in response to the sound of . . . a heartbeat. She turned around to look back down upon the man she had believed was dead, but there was no sign of him; he was gone. Yet she heard the sound of a heartbeat again, this time near the door.

Suddenly and out of nowhere, Wave was standing in front of the door, blocking the exit. Moreover, the eye slots in his helmet were glowing with an ethereal blue luminosity. Like Tatsumi had that time against Budo, he had just miraculously cheated death somehow.

Leone glared at him, growling once more. She seemed oblivious to his eery blue glowing eyes, instead focused on the fact that he was still standing. "For . . . last . . . time, run away."

The Grand Chariot wielder said nothing. Instead, he simply stood where he was standing, not moving and muscle and practically daring the feral assassin to attack him. Leone did just that; she ran towards him once more on her paws and legs, prepared to pick up where she left off. She was just about ready to pounce him and finish him off, as if having given in completely to her animal instincts.

But the very next moment marked something completely unexpected for Leone; it was the end of the battle. Whatever happened had occurred too quickly for her to see it, but all she knew was that blood was pouring out of her mouth and that Wave's right armored arm was protruding out of her back. Putting two and two together, it didn't take much to realize that he had punched her clean through her chest just then.

Wave then promptly removed his arm from her chest, blood pouring out as she fell to the floor. For whatever reason, the buckle on Leone's belt forcibly reverted back to its upright position and she returned back to the form she usually maintained while transformed.

The pain from that last attack was so great and unbearable that she could hardly move a muscle. Instead, all she could do is look up at the man who had bested her so swiftly just then. Just looking at him, she couldn't help but feel an aura that was cold and robotic. It sent just as many chills up her spine as there were when she had felt Esdeath's murderous aura a while back, but this aura was different.

What's more, something else had occurred to Leone as she looked upon the Jaegar. She once again recalled Bulat's explanation of the time Tatsumi had gotten the best; how it was as if Tatsumi had become a different person upon being pushed far enough in the heat of battle.

This encounter wasn't over yet, however, at least as far as Wave was concerned. Without uttering a word, he took a step towards Leone and hovered his right foot above her head. There was no doubt what he had intended to do; he was on the verge of giving the feral assassin a fate just like the one he gave the late Seryu Ubiquitous. Leone tried her best to move, but her body was in so much pain that it just wouldn't listen.

But before Wave could delive the coup de gras, he noticed something peculiar in the window. A dragon, Kurome's dragon, was rapidly plummeting towards another area in the capital. There was no doubt that it was about to crash into the ground and were Wave familiar with what Akame had done to it, he'd know why. Nevertheless, this distraction completely took his attention away from finishing off Leone. He immediately flew out the hole in ceiling he had created earlier, no doubt intent on aiding his comrade.

Leone didn't quite understand what had just happened or why Wave had left, but sighed in relief. "Sorry everybody, but I'm gonna need to take a breather here for a minute. Can't do much when I've got a damn hole in my chest."

She closed her eyes as if to momentarily rest, only to hear the sound of a muffled voice coming from beneath the room's floor. Her eyes popped wide open as she heard this voice. This distinct and peculiar voice. Her ears tingled as she heard the words "Sir Wave, is it safe to come out yet?"

* * *

[. . . _**Game Changer** _. . . ]

* * *

In the imperial throne room, Syura stood a few yards across Najenda; he wasn't concerned about the new imperial arm she had in her possession. Rather, he maintained a smug look on his face, as if nothing the Night Raid commander could do would alter the inevitable outcome of their battle. "So, you're the ones who had Adramalech. Seems that fool Esdeath wasted her time leaving that one in the hands of that Rakshasa Demon thug. She may as well have just given it to me since that's where it's going to end up anyway."

Sparks dancing across the blade portion of her new weapon, Najenda aimed the tip straight towards the twisted and sinister man standing across her. Like the recoil on a handgun, he right arm flew back as a bolt of electricity flew out the tip of her hook and straight towards Syura. Unfortunately for the Night Raid commander, he had already vanished by the time she had fired her weapon.

"Now that I think about, Adramalech actually looks quite good on you", Syura said, standing directly behind Najenda and looking over her shoulder. "It fits the whole fake arm look you've got going for you."

She promptly spun around, leaving a visible path of electricity in the air as she tried to slash into her demented adversary with her hook. But as had been the case throughout the battle thus far, Syura was once again one step ahead; he vanished and reappeared 10 feet backward.

"Tsk tsk", Syura uttered mockingly. "Perhaps I was wrong to buy the stories about your alleged tactical brilliance. What part of 'I can read your mind' do you not comprehend?"

Najenda fired another blast of lightning towards her adversary. "Spectator is far from invincible. Akame proved that much upon defeating its previous owner."

"Unlike its previous owner . . .", Syura replied while casually teleporting out of the way. "I'm not a complete moron. And you are certainly no Shinigami Akame."

The Night Raid commander raised her right arm into the air, stretching it towards the ceiling. Upon doing this, additional bolts of electricity were emitted out of from Adramalech's tip. Said bolts were not only many in number, but were zipping out in every direction in the room.

"By sending the electrical bolts in many random directions", Syura said, vanishing and reappearing all around the room as a means of avoiding this wide and encompassing attack. ". . . my mind reading won't matter as I won't be able to predict where your attacks are coming from and will eventually get hit, right?"

He vanished again only to reappear right in front of Najenda. As he reappeared, he backhanded her in face with his right hand, knocking her down with one move. "Wrong. As long as I know where you aren't shooting, I know exactly where I need to be to dodge that little party favor you call an attack."

Syura bent down, grabbed the Najenda by her silver hair and lifted her up just enough to look at her face to face. Then with a mocking grin, he said, "That's your problem. You can't help yourself. You need to contemplate every single one of your actions, especially in the heat of battle. Had even that buffoon, Zank the Executioner, fought you instead of Shinigami Akame, he'd still be alive and you'd be missing a head. It's impossible for someone like you to even lay a scratch on me."

Defiant to the bitter end, Najenda mustered up a cluster of saliva with her tongue and spat upon the face of her dark and sadistic adversary. He vanished, of course, before the spit could even reach him, only to reappear two feet to the left of where he had just been standing. "See? Contemplating!"

Free from Syura's grasp, she rose back on her feet, her spirit unbroken. "Bastard! What was the Prime Minister thinking entrusting you with that glove and all of the imperial arms?"

To which Syura laughed. "Entrusted me? That old fool thinks all of the imperial arms were lost during the battle at the Revolutionary Army fortress. He doesn't know that I absconded all of them while everyone else was distracted."

"I don't understand. Why would you double cross your father like this? Don't you serve him?"

"I, the great Syura, serve no one! And after today, everyone in the Grand Empire, including my father, will be serving me. And it's all thanks to you!"

"What in blazes are you are babbling about, you demented psychopath?"

"I'm talking about my plan to rule the Grand Empire of course. And with Gaea Foundation in my possession, that plan has become a reality."

Najenda's mouth had hung wide agape, as if having instantly pieced together this twisted and sinister man's true intentions. "You don't mean . . ."

"Ah, but I do. That Chelsea girl had no idea the power she had in her possession. The ability to take on the form on any person she chooses. With it, she posed as the late General Budo and no one batted an eye. But my imagination far surpasses hers. I could've easily alerted my father to your little scheme to get into the palace undetected, but why ruin such a perfect opportunity as this?"

"You intentionally allowed us to break in?"

"That's right. I've even assured that the emperor has no protection besides a single one of Esdeath's meddlesome lackeys. In other words, I want you to kill the emperor; I'm counting on it. Once he's dead, I'll kill whoever killed him and take on the form of the emperor as my own. And once that has happened, I'll be the one running the show and I'll tell everyone that the gallant Syura died honorably protecting his majesty from the evils of Night Raid. It's a win-win."

"This is madness even for you! Unless you plan on being as subservient as the real emperor, there's no way someone as power hungry as your father would ever put up with it!"

"Good thing he's hiding below the palace where your little boyfriend was headed. With any luck, they've already run into each other."

"You would have your own father killed for your own personal gain?"

"The old man has always taught me to use whatever opportunity presents itself to get ahead in life. What could make a parent prouder than to know that their child has surpassed them?"

"Enough!", Najenda said, furrowing her eyebrows. "I will hear no more of this madness. It's now clear to me that you are a far greater threat to our chances of restoring this country than even your father. I'll eliminate you myself."

If there were any indication that Syura took the assassin leader's threat seriously, the jovial mocking look on his face certainly wasn't such an indication. Nor was his laughter. "Eliminate me yourself? Good one. I do suppose it's time we wrap up the foreplay. You can't imagine how much I'm looking forward to our main event.'

Najenda wasn't fazed by her adversaries continued perversions. Instead, she firmly pointed the tip of her hook towards him. As she did this, a full stream of electricity could be seen enveloping around her prosthetic weapon, intensifying in light blue voltage. Syura didn't appear intimidated, however. He simply stood where he had been standing, snickering and effectively daring Najenda to attack.

And so she did, firing a bolt of lightning out from the tip of her hook and towards Syura. As expected, however, Syura vanished before her single eye thanks to his handy teleportation powers. He reappeared right behind her, delivering a devastating karate chop to the back of her neck. But for some odd reason, Najenda stood perfectly still despite this maneuver. In fact, it was as if she hadn't even been hit at all. Syura, on the other hand, was feeling the sensation of being electrocuted as millions of miniature volts danced across his body

Najenda smirked with the utmost satisfaction while turning around to face this depraved and sinister man as she heard his cries of agony. It was now Syura who had dropped to the floor, flat on his back and completely defenseless. "Well well, lookie what we have here. I hope this isn't what you had in mind for the main event. I suppose it's to be expected of men who talk an overwhelmingly big game; they're always the ones least able to deliver."

"You . . . bitch", Syura muttered, still trying to cope with the pain of being electrocuted. "How did you do that? Your thoughts should have tipped me off! Whatever you did, you weren't thinking it!"

"Who knows?", Najenda replied ever so coyly and with a shrug of her shoulders. "I guess I just got lucky."

"No, there's no way", Syura replied, gasping and panting. "I would have known."

"That remains to be proven. What you do, however, know, is what it's like to have one billion volts coursing through your body. Or in other words, what's it like to be struck by lightning."

Sensing that their battle had reached its conclusion, Najenda casually bent down with her gaze focused on the brown silk glove in Syura's right hand. "You called it the 'Limit Breaker' I believe. You won't be needing it where you're going."

"Neither will you, General Najenda", said an unknown voice nearby.

Najenda turned to identify this unknown interloper with her own eye, only to heart a gunshot go off and a sudden surging pain in her right side. Pain such that she immediately dropped to the floor, holding herself up by kneeling on one knee. Gritting her teeth, she mustered all of her strength to keep herself from completely falling over; she was that determined to see for herself who it was who had just shot her. Looking towards the throne, she saw the emperor sitting upon it with a smug look on his face and with a magnum in his left hand.

* * *

 **[. . . _Esdeath's Mask_ . . .]**

* * *

Esdeath and Tatsumi stood in the center of the palace courtyard, engaged in what may very well have been the fight of the century. Tatsumi had completely abandoned his attempt to bait the Ice Queen into putting herself in a position where he could disarm her; instead, he was now operating in a more offensive fashion by actively swinging his mighty blade. Esdeath, on the other hand, was operating in a more defensive fashion; she actively made use of her buckler to parry incoming swings.

Both combatants were moving so quickly that an outside observer would've perceived their movements as being nothing more than blurs. Though they appeared to be even, a mere glance on Tatsumi's person suggested otherwise. He had gained nine additional small cuts since the initial one the Ice Queen had marked on his upper right arm. Four on his legs, three on arms and two on his neck.

The reason for the imbalance in the flow of their battle was clear upon close inspection. A reason Esdeath didn't mind articulating out loud after parrying her way out of their exchange and leaping backwards a few feet. "There are many who dismiss the claymore as an outdated weapon used by musclebound imbeciles with no imagination besides clobbering their foes with something big and strong, but you are living proof that such a weapon does not get enough credit. You make use of its advantages: Its power. But you're are also mindful of its disadvantages: It's speed. In your hands, you've made it seem as if its weakness does not exist. From what I can tell, your brute strength is slightly above my own, but our natural speeds are equal it seems. Because of that, you're put yourself at a handicap by deciding to engage me with a sword like that. You may not find it heavy, but your attacks are roughly .01 seconds slower than mine."

"Can't argue with you there", Tatsumi replied.

"Of course not. It's a flawless analysis . . . and yet, I feel as if it doesn't shed light on the full picture."

"What do you mean?"

"Your demeanor is incredibly calm. It has been throughout our entire fight. No matter how dire the situation has seemed, I haven't sensed any fear, terror or panic from you; just calm. But as I crossed blades with you just now, I sensed something else; I sensed something that doesn't quite line up with how you're behaving, yet it somehow does. It's as if you're calm, but not calm at all. You could call it a living and breathing contradiction, but I'm not certain how to describe it."

Hearing Esdeath's description, Tatsumi was reminded of Bulat's two most impactful teachings. Teachings he had taken to heart and memory The first was to stay focused and keep his cool no matter what. A lesson that had saved him from certain death time and time second was to let his soul rage and roar. A lesson that enabled him to turn the tables in multiple battles where he had been the underdog. But what if there were a way to combine these teachings? "Tranquil fury."

"Tranquil fury?"

"Everyone, including you, has always told me I had a lot of potential. But for so long, I could never tap into it. But then I fought General Budo, learned a bit more about Incursio and got to learn a lot about myself. It took some getting used to, but I've finally found a way to fight at my best."

"Well I'll be. So that's how you became so strong. I was wondering what had truly happened to Budo, but now that I know you fought him, I guess I don't need to wonder any longer. In the end, he was weak just like all the rest."

"Weak, huh. What about your father? Was he weak too?"

"Of course he was. Didn't I tell you before? What happened to my father was regrettable, but it doesn't change the fact that he was a weak man."

"And yet you continue to hold him in high regard. And if I'm not mistaken, you had never beaten him in single combat, have you?"

"That's all in the past. I'm much stronger now than I was back then. Besides, I'm alive and my father is dead. That is proof enough to confirm who is strong and who is weak. Though I won't lie: I do see our duel thus far as being very similar to the ones I had with him in the past."

"Be honest with me, Esdeath: Do you really believe that the reason your father died was because he was weak. Or do you think there was another reason?"

"Of course he was weak. There is no . . . other reason" She paused before those last two words uncharacteristically. She noticed her chest tightening as she uttered these words, but didn't understand why. "Enough prattle, Tatsumi. I'd much rather continue our match."

Tatsumi nodded his head before charging towards her and picking up where they left off. The battle continued precisely as before, with neither making any headway beyond Esdeath slipping in the occasional last second small cut with her rapier.

There was something different however. Something off about the Ice Queen. The smile she had been sporting had faded away. Her mind . . . it was no longer completely focused on the fight before her. Instead, memories of the past once again came floating to the surface of her mind. This time, it was a memory much later in her childhood. It was a memory of what had taken place days before her father's untimely end.

Within the Partas clan village, she recalled having overheard her father discussing something of particular interest with another villager one morning.

" _I couldn't believe it, but I saw got a glimpse of it with my own eyes!",_ the villager had said. " _A rainbow eyed cockatrice! I don't know how it got there, but it's wandering the mountains on its own. Just say the word, and I can put together an expedition to hunt it down!"_

" _No can do"_ , her father had replied while shaking his head. " _That storm really did a number on our fortification. For now, we need to focus all of our manpower on making repairs._ "

" _But Chief! You know how much a rainbow eyed cockatrice is worth on the market, dead or alive. We could get a year's supply of grain. There's no telling what'll happen if we don't go hunt it down now. Someone or something else might catch it._ "

" _Priorities. We'll focus on the walls then we'll go look for this cockatrice."_

She recalled the villager have promptly walked way, visibly frustrated at his chief's judgment. She had then walked up to her further, curious about what she had overheard. " _Father, is it really a good idea to give upon catching that rainbow eyed cockatrice? Isn't it worth a lot of gold?"_

To which he had responded, " _Believe me, Esdeath: I'd love to go hunt it down, but we really don't have time with the village walls being in need of repair and all. Now if you'll excuse, I have to go supervise the repairs on the south wall. Be a dear and bring some firewood down there when you get a chance."_

As her father had walked away, Esdeath had smiled to herself as an idea came to mind. " _Don't worry, father"_ , she had whispered. " _While you focus on the walls, I'll get the cockatrice myself! Just wait! When you see what I've done on my own, you'll be so proud of me!_ "

And so without hesitation or approval, the young Ice Queen had ventured high into the mountains on her own. Even at that young age, she had been a skilled hunter and thus narrowing down the cockatrice's location had not been all that difficult to her. She had found its tracks, had stumbled upon one of its feathers and had gotten a whiff of its scent. By the evening, she had determined where the beast was likely to appear if she waited long enough. This had prompted her to climb up into a nearby tree and patiently wait for it.

What had become an entire night of waiting had soon become an entire day. The cockatrice was a no-show and yet she was confident in her assessment; she was certain it was going to stumble past her tree sooner or later. She nibbled on what little food she had brought with her while keeping sleep to a minimum. For hours and hours, she remained vigilant. A few thoughts of returning to the village had entered her mind, but she brushed them all aside, determined to please her father.

A full additional two days of this had passed and she still found herself waiting in the tree. She had considered finally heading back to the village empty handed, having considered the possibility that another predator had gotten to the cockatrice before she had. But just as she was about to climb down, she saw the beast casually grazing nearby.

She had wanted to leap for joy, but pinched herself as she realized she might scare her quarry away. Sure enough, the beast had waltzed right under her tree, just as she predicted. And the very moment it did, she swooped down like an eagle intent upon catching an unsuspecting wild rabbit. With one clean slice to the throat, she knew the beast was hers and that her hunt was successful. With a joyous smile on her lips, she grabbed the beast by the neck and began making her way back down the mountains.

At this point, she recalled the part of the tale she had previously revealed the Tatsumi. The part where she had arrived back to her village, only to discover that everyone was dead or dying thanks to an attack from the Northern Tribes. More importantly, she recalled her father's final moments. " _Esdeath. Like I told you. We were defeated because we weren't strong enough. This was our fate. Never let yourself be of the weak, Esdeath. Never become the prey._ "

With these memories weighing on her mind, the Ice Queen continued her battle with her beloved. She couldn't help but notice that his question kept echoing in her mind; was there another reason her father died? " _Nonsense, Tatsumi. This is just more of your naïve views on how the world works. You are just trying to preach more of your weak sense of traditional morality. What my father said is the TRUTH! The STRONG live and the WEAK die._ "

In that split instant, the Ice Queen was yet again in a position to take advantage of her weapon's superior speed and fish for another small cut. " _He died because he was weak! There's no other way that day could have ended. His weakness led to his death, Tatsumi! Just as your weakness will lead to YOURS!"_ This time, she aimed for his throat, but rather than settle for another glancing blow, she converted her attack into a full-fledged slash.

A mistake on her part. The slash was too wide and Tatsumi, merely by tilting his weapon ever so slightly, caught the tip end of her rapier between the guard on his claymore, effectively parrying her attack away from his throat and into the air besides him. He then followed up with a swift and deadly kick to the Ice Queen's stomach, knocking her away and sending her tumbling to the ground.

She began to arise back on her feet only to notice something off about herself. She was breathing harder all of the sudden. " _That blow to the solar plexus was deliberate. He must be trying to wear me down. If I make a mistake like that again, he'll succeed."_

"You were sloppy just now", Tatsumi remarked, as if asserting a clear and obvious fact.

Esdeath regained her footing and promptly ceased her panting after taking one deep breath and exhaling. "You give yourself too little, credit. That was a good counter-attack."

He shook his head dismissively of her response "Until now, you haven't been so careless. It has something to do with what I asked you, doesn't it?"

She narrowed her eyes in frustration, "And what if it did?"

With a reluctant sigh, Tatsumi said the following, "I didn't know the man personally, so there's really no way for me to know everything about the kind of man your father was. And maybe I'll never know. However, the one thing I am sure of is that maybe there's a side of you that doesn't actually believe he was weak. Maybe there's a side of you that uses that as an excuse to avoid having to confront another feeling that lies deep in your heart. That's what I'm sensing from you every time our swords clash. The truth is that maybe you're afraid to admit that you blame yourself for what happened to your father."

The Ice Queen stood silently, her eyes widening and her face having taken on a ghostly pallor as she listened to Tatsumi's explanation. " _The strong live and the weak die. Those were my father's words and I've followed them every day since his death. But before he died, I . . . I didn't . . . that's right, I didn't tell anyone where I was. I wanted to surprise father. I wanted to see him smile like he did that one time when we were camping. But the truth is that . . . if I hadn't gone up to the mountains, then . . ."_

At that very next moment, the image of her father lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood resurfaced in her mind and it was as if a lightbulb had been flicked on and all the truths and realities that had been lying in dark for years had suddenly had a light shined upon them. Startling revelations they were. Soul shaking at that.

Esdeath immediately discarded her sword by thrusting it into the ground before her, only to do something so uncharacteristic that even Tatsumi, despite the consistently calm demeanor he had been displaying up until now, left his mouth hanging wide open in utter shock and confusion. She began screaming to the top of her lungs with her hands pressed against both sides of her head as if a carnivorous earwig were devouring the insides of her skull.

The pain she was experiencing, if literal, appeared to be entirely of the mental variety. It was if she had snapped; as if she had broken down like so many of her tortured victims in the past. She was also moving around erratically, so much to the point that she even dropped down and began beating her head against the ground.

Tatsumi merely stood by, unable to fathom what he was seeing. He had never seen the Ice Queen like this. In fact, it was fairly safe to say that no one had; not even her beloved father. What was going through her mind? What was causing her to experience such psychological trauma? Was this the effect of years of repression? How could someone who conquered an imperial arm like Demon's Extract break down like this? Tatsumi searched his mind for an answer, but couldn't procure one. It was truly baffling.

This outburst lasted for a half a minute, but the Ice Queen was nonetheless able to pull herself back together just enough to focus on the one person who had set her on this frustrating tour down memory lane. "Damn you, Tatsumi. It's because of you that I feel like this. You've been filling my head with all sorts of strange and useless thoughts feelings since the day we met. Curse you!"

"Esdeath . . .", Tatsumi said, uncertain of how to respond to her strange outbursts.

She got right back on her feet, her eyes full of death and rage. She was once again projecting the dark and murderous aura Leone had come to fear firsthand. "Shut up! It doesn't matter what you say. You are a weakness I can tolerate no longer!" She grabbed her sword and practically ripped it out from the ground she had thrusted it into. "I'll finish you off here and now with a technique that surpasses even Mahapadma. Behold, my second trump card: Dämon Zahn Grade 4."

* * *

 **A/N:** Just for the record, I've always viewed Esdeath as bearing some pretty strong similarities to the Rurouni Kenshin villain, Soujiro Seta. In fact, I always believed that her backstory was designed to set up a similar "catharsis moment" like what Soujiro had while battling Kenshin. The way the author set her up, the character was simply never designed to be an evil for the sake of being evil villain and we really could have gotten more out of her in the original story line.

Now there are those who might find my treatment of Esdeath in the last part OOC, but take into account the fact that the author has never actually had anyone press her on her past, much less explore it. There are gaps in this character that I am merely endeavoring to fill. I think the implications I raised here make sense in what we know about the character and certainly give her backstory a little more meaning than merely than what we saw in the original, but that's just me! Hopefully, the next chapter will make the method to my madness very clear!

Anyways, two more chapters to go! I had originally intended for this chapter and the next chapter to be one chapter, but it would've ended up being too long.

Love it? Hate it? Meh? Lemme know what you think! As always, I appreciate your thoughts, both constructive and positive! Trolling too, provided you're at least clever about it! ;) As always, thanks for reading and thanks for the months of support! So glad to break the 200 review barrier!


	17. Kill the End Game - Part Three

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 **A/N:** Aaaaannnd we've once once again made our way to another new chapter! Not just ANY chapter, but one chapter away from the last. I meant to get this out MUCH earlier, but as my law practice expands, so too does my lack of free time. One chapter from the end though. Can you believe that? A whole year or progress is about to pay off. I'll try and get the last chapter out before the new year.

Before we get started, just a few points to note:

 **#1.** A MASSIVE shoutout to the reviewers! It's always great to see your feedback randomly come in to my inbox throughout the day. And it looks as if some of you guys just up and read my mind when it comes to insight. Spectator perhaps? Curses! Thank you VERY MUCH for reading guys/gals. Same shoutout to the favs and follows! You guys are the best.

 **#2.** I plan on commissioning an artist to produce some custom cover art for this fic. It'll hopefully be released when I post the next chapter. If anyone knows of any good AKG artists who'd be willing to take a paid commission, that'd be great. They gotta be credible though. Don't wanna deal with any scammers!

And awwwwwwaaaaay we go!

* * *

 _ **Episode 30: Kill the End Game: Part Three**_

There in the imperial throne room, the emperor sat on his throne with an uncharacteristic sense of smugness on his lips. With a handgun trained on Najenda, he had even begun to chuckle at her situation. "It's been a while, General Najenda. How have you been?"

The Night Raid commander painfully arose back onto her feet, tightly pressing her left hand against the area on her right side where she had been shot. "Emperor Makato. Who would've thought the Prime Minister would ever let you off your leash and even send you to personally do his dirty work."

Syura was still laid out on the floor, still reeling from the pain he had endured as a result of Najenda's lightning. He was nonetheless able to raise his head just enough to see what was happening. "You . . . nitwit", he said, eyes directed towards Najenda. "That's not the emperor. That's . . ." A bullet pierced his right leg before he could utter another word.

"Hush your mouth, boy", said the emperor, his gun now trained on Syura.

Najenda immediately narrowed her eyebrows, as if having pieced every piece of the puzzle together. "Prime Minister Honest."

"Oh dear. And here I had hoped my ruse would last just a little bit longer." At that moment, a smoke cloud had poofed over the emperor's body. As it dispersed, Prime Minister Honest appeared to be the one sitting on the throne with his gun still trained on his own son. "Well General Najenda. You wanted my head on a platter, so here I am. I'd offer you to come and take it, but it doesn't look like you're in any shape to take anything besides a permanent nap."

"How did you get your hands on that imperial arm?"

"You mean Gaea Foundation? Ah, it's a long story, but my foolish son deceived himself into thinking he could hide things from his father. I've known about his particular brand of treachery for quite some time, but was waiting for the opportune moment I'd be able to make use of it."

"Bastard" Syura muttered.

Another bullet pierced the same leg. "I said hush your mouth! You have no one but yourself to blame for your current situation. On the other hand, your plan to make use of Night Raid, let the emperor die and take his place was pretty shrewd. Too shrewd for a foolish ungrateful brat like you. So sit back and watch. I'll show you how a master does it."

To which Najenda responded, "You mean to tell me you would let the emperor die as well?"

"You ask such small questions, General Najenda. It's only a matter of time before Makoto starts gaining a streak of independence; only a matter of time before he realizes he doesn't need a Prime Minister anymore. Just last week, he took one of those pesky Jaegar's suggestions over mine. Honestly, I have no use for power that is hard to control. When I learned of Syura's treachery and intent to commit regicide, it fitted perfectly with my own ambitions. Why settle for being an adviser when I can run this damn empire myself?"

"Run the empire yourself? More like run it into the ground. Or has the poverty and suffering throughout villages and cities outside the capitol not been brought to your attention?"

"Have you ever concerned yourself with the anthills you trample upon? Their lives didn't mean anything before I became the Prime Minister and they don't mean anything now. They are little maggots whose names will never be remembered in history. They should be honored that I've given their meaningless little lives some purpose by making them food for my own ambitions."

"You're even more deranged than your son! If you keep pillaging the country like this, it won't be long before it collapses and you'll have nothing left to satisfy your greed!"

"Thanks to my new imperial arm, that won't happen! Once I've sucked the stupid and pathetic people of this country dry, I'll go to a new country, assume the identity of their leader and repeat the process. Maybe I'll start with Reispan. They may be a bunch of mongrels, but I've always had a taste for their women. And their food too: Absolutely scrumptious."

"Don't get too cocky!", Najenda growled. "Even if I die here, my subordinates are each more than capable than finishing the job."

"The only 'job' those fools will be finishing is the assassination of our dear Emperor Makoto. And with that playmate you've found to occupy General Esdeath's attention, I have no doubt they'll succeed. Once they've done it, I'll have every guard and soldier in the city swarm the palace and flush them out once and for all."

* * *

 **[. . .** _ **And the victor is**_ **. . . ]**

* * *

Esdeath stood across her beloved nemesis; all of her attention was focused on nothing but this young man standing before her. He had more than lived up to being the challenge she had always craved with every fiber of her being. And yet despite having had her dream of a worthy opponent realized, she was anything but pleased.

On the contrary, the Ice Queen was filled with murderous wrath. Just the look in her eyes and the grimace on her face; it was clear that she was angrier than she had ever been. And not as a result from any of her opponent's attacks, but his words. Even at the risk of being driven insane by consuming the entire essence of Demon's Extra, her iron-will persevered. But his words, his troublesome words were a different beast to be trifled with. Such words forcefully dredged up parts of her soul that had been deeply suppressed for years.

Tatsumi stood surprised at the Ice Queen's declaration to end their battle immediately as well as the means by which she assured she would end it, but nevertheless regained his otherworldly calm composure in a heartbeat. "Dämon Zahn Grade 4?", he said, repeating the words that had just left her mouth.

"During our last encounter, you were somehow able to move and blindside me even though I had frozen time and space. Since then, I have devised a technique to utterly decimate even one who could inconceivably resist my Mahapadma."

All of the sudden, she extended her sword arm into the air, pointing her rapier towards the sky as if it were a lightning rod of sorts. As she did this, all of the ice that had been manifested in the courtyard broke down into ice dust, gradually gravitating towards the tip of her rapier and seemingly evaporating upon coming into contact.

As more ice was pulled towards the Ice Queen's rapier, the space around it began to look distorted. What's more, throughout this ritual, more sweat could be seen accumulating on her forehead. So much so that the strain on her body was more than clear. But such trivialities were of no concern to her for this next moment was to be the crescendo of their epic battle.

It didn't take long, but Esdeath had dispersed every trace of ice in the courtyard. And as a result of having done so, the space at the tip of her rapier was bending and folding, almost as if it were a black hole of sorts. She promptly lowered her sword arm, only to ostentatiously slice the air before her in a cross shaped manner. In response, an X-shaped dimensional tear appeared in place of the air she had cut.

"This . . . is grade 4. Ice concentrated enough to manipulate time and space itself. My Mahapadma enables me power over time and space, but you're not the only one who has thought to concentrate all of their powers into a single weapon. One touch from my rapier; it doesn't matter where. One touch and your entire body will be atomized into nothing. In other words, you will be erased."

"Do you really believe that, Esdeath?"

"Of course I do. I've already tested this technique on two prisoners due for execution. Each of them were crushed into a singularity upon being touched by the tip of my sword."

Tatsumi shook his head, obviously having something else in mind. "Do you really believe that if you kill me here, everything I've said will be erased as well?"

"Every single trace of you shall vanish! I have no need of your thoughts, your words and I most especially have no need of this insipid thing called love. Not anymore! I was a fool to ever embrace it. It is a weakness and most unfitting for someone who embodies strength; someone who possesses the right to live. So die Tatsumi! Die and become further proof of my strength!"

With that, she slipped back into her fencing stance; her knees bent to perfection, her right foot forward, her left foot backward and perpendicular to the former. With her wrist movement alone, she spun the tip of her sword of her blade in a deceptively simple figure-eight fashion and had it pointed it in the direction of Tatsumi's chest.

"Alright", Tatsumi said, slipping back into his own stance, firmly holding his claymore out before him with both hands. "Then let's finish this."

Yet again, both were in their respective postures. Only this time, the tension in the air was thick and intoxicating. They both know that the end of their battle was approaching and that their next exchange would decide the winner. Their temporary impasse was almost poetic. Tatsumi could feel the weight of Esdeath's very soul bearing down on him and Esdeath could feel Tatsumi's bearing down on hers. In a way, this was the most intimate moment they had ever shared together, despite having slept next to one another on three prior occasions and the kisses they had shared.

Just as this moment had passed, however, their finale had begun. Esdeath vanished into thin air and a gust of air blew away in her tracks. Tatsumi disappeared at the exact same time, leaving nothing behind except dust being kicked up behind them. They had each moved so swiftly that not even a blur could be seen in the wake of their movements.

Although they were both moving at a superhuman speed, they were both cognizant of one another's moves, especially Tatsumi with his crimson eyes. He watched as Esdeath came flying at him, lunging her blade with the intensity of a torpedo. The tip end was on a collision course with his chest. A move to which teh assassin responded with a quick and well-placed parry; he clashed the middle of his blade into the middle of the Ice Queen's, causing the tip-end to fly past his left shoulder.

With Esdeath seemingly wide open, Tatsumi pressed forward with a straight slash down. The general was far from finished in this exchange, however. She immediately jotted herself forward, into the eye of the hurricane so to speak. Before the flame entrenched claymore could descend any closer, she responded with a well-placed parry of her own, using the grade 3 ice fashioned buckler on her left arm to bat away the base end of his sword (without a doubt the area with the least resistance). In one move, she had not only nullified his attack, but had created the opening she needed to end their duel. No doubt her plan all along

It was now Tatsumi who was seemingly wide open and the Ice Queen was already on the verge of slicing into the left side of his throat. Only his head was already in mid-motion; the Incursio wielder was already weaving his head out of the way before Esdeath had begun her attack on his throat. It was a clean dodge. Much too clean for Esdeath's taste considering she didn't even manage to nick her opponent's skin

But once again, the general was far from finished in this exchange. Rather than recoil her blade back, she followed up by fishing for yet another small cut much the like the nine she had already managed to inflict in their earlier exchanges. Though with the threat the tip of her rapier now posed, this cut would be lethal were it to be inflicted.

She was on the verge on nicking Tatsumi on his right shoulder, but just like with the slice she had attempted on his throat, inflicting this blow had already become a lost cause for Tatsumi was already in the process of avoiding her attack; he had spun his upper body to the right just enough to make her miss. What's more, he had used his own momentum in spinning his upper body to pull off another straight slash down. Unlike the previous one though, this swing carried exponentially more power behind it.

It was at this point that the truth had become more than clear: Tatsumi had anticipated every fraction of the exchange thus far and Esdeath had played right into his hand. He had already learned how to anticipate the adjustments she had made to her sword style. He may have even allowed the Ice Queen to inflict so many small cuts with her rapier in order to lull her into a false sense of security. Regardless, the truth was obvious; this battle was his.

Despite the infinitesimal span of time that was being followed, the image Esdeath could see before her was one she was well familiar with: Death. It was like looking into the eyes of a blood thirsty dragon intent on finishing off its prey. Only Esdeath didn't blink at the sight of the abyss before her. She was radiant with confidence, almost as if the battle were in actuality going the way she had planned it from the start. After all, she had already been fully aware of the powers Tatsumi's had endowed him with and his tenacious ability to adapt to her fighting style.

Wasting no time, she met her adversary head on by recoiling her blade and concentrating just about all of her remaining energy into the buckler on her left arm. It instantly shapeshifted into a thick black and resilient medieval heater shield. She then promptly held her upgraded shield out just in time to block Tatsumi's incoming attack. And such an attack it was. His claymore had thunderously smashed and rained down upon her shield like an asteroid slamming through the atmosphere, colliding into the earth and instantly sending a powerful gust of hurricanic wind in every direction.

There was a reason Tatsumi was easily able to pierce Esdeath's grade 2 ice, but put no scratches into grade 3. Grade 3 was on a completely different level of durability and could absorb much greater amounts of force from opposing weapons. Surely in a heat shield form, it's capacity to do this was well beyond that of its previous buckler form.

But as they clashed, the Ice Queen noticed a burning sensation on her shield arm. She glanced directly at her shield, not having felt this sensation before. It was then that she noticed that the shield was beginning to crack. " _Impossible_ ", she thought. It was while glancing in this direction that she noticed something even more uncanny: The flames on Tatsumi's blade were changing in color; the concentrated orange flames were fading away, only to be replaced by divine-like concentrated white flames.

Esdeath immediately knew what was happening. Incursio, the claymore itself, was adapting again and at the worst possible moment. She knew she had to do something quickly before Tatsumi cleaved her arm off. Using all of her strength and body weight, she skillfully shoved her way out of their gridlock, successfully batting Tatsumi's blade away and sending him twirling to his right before his sword could clean through her arm.

In this split instant, the Ice Queen noticed her shield split in two. What's more, her left arm had suddenly gone limp, indicating that it was broken or at very least dislocated. Still, none of that mattered: (1) She still had her sword arm and (2) In that miniscule of miniscule instants, Tatsumi was clearly wide open and clearly had no other tricks up his sleeve. She knew the battle was hers for the taking and threw all of her weight into one last thrust. It made no difference where she pierced him; a single touch from the tip of her rapier would finish him off for good and erase him from her life.

This was the end. This was truly the end. Nothing would stop her. Nothing would take away her claim to be strong. And nothing would remove what she perceived to be a beacon of weakness before her. Her father's words were the truth, Tatsumi's were false and this contest was finally over. It was finally . . . no. Still shifting to the right, Tatsumi still had that accursed calm look in his eyes. The look of a patient fisherman sitting at the docks, waiting for the line on his pole to tug and Esdeath could clearly see this despite being in mid-motion of her thrust.

And yet despite what was clearly the goddess of victory smiling upon her, the tug came. Suddenly, before her blade could go any further, Esdeath felt a sharp and painful shiver go down her spine. Her body stopped listening to her and her movements had come to a sudden halt. Her legs had abandoned her, wobbling like jelly, wobbling like that of a boxer who had just suffered a devastating blow to the chin without falling down. It was in that instant that she realized the full brunt of the power behind Tatsumi's previous attack. She had boasted about being .01 seconds faster than him earlier, but now her speed advantage was meaningless as she couldn't move at all. The strain on her body was too great.

Meanwhile, Tatsumi, who had shifted to his right after the Ice Queen had knocked him away, had converted his movement into a 360-degree spin. He was coming right back around, swinging his blade in an upwards diagonal fashion. Esdeath could do nothing more than watch as the fisherman reeled her in with his fishing line; she had taken the bait that had been deliberately set and was now paying the price.

Despite its complexity, the entire exchange had taken place within the timespan of one second and had come to a swift end. In that last instant, Tatsumi cleaved the Ice Queen's rapier in two while also landing a slight glancing blow on the upper part of her chest; specifically, a small line across her Demon's Extract tattoo. Given the heat and the flames the claymore was now emitting, the wound was instantly cauterized.

But that wasn't all. Just as he had cut through Esdeath's rapier, he released his left hand from the grip of his own blade hilt and had used it to seize her by her throat. Then, with just that one hand, he promptly slammed her body into the ground. A move the Ice Queen was utterly unable to defend herself against. The duel had finally taken its toll on her and she was completely exhausted; she couldn't do anything to but pant and watch as her beloved was about to administer the coup de grace.

Though alas, the battle looked to have finally taken its toll on Tatsumi as well. He too was panting and showing signs of exhaustion, though obviously not to the degree of his adversary. Even his claymore had reverted back to its dormant short sword state; no doubt was his ability to wield it linked to his stamina just like his fullbody armor was. Still, none of this prevented Tatsumi from finishing the fight once and for all.

Esdeath merely laid there as Tatsumi held her down with one hand, watching as he maneuvered his short sword into a reverse grip and held the blade right above her head. No words were exchanged next. No lectures were given. No confessions were made. There was nothing but silence as Tatsumi plunged his blade down without remorse . . . signifying the end.

* * *

 **[** _ **. . . Shinigami Akame . . .**_ **]**

* * *

A heavy crash could be heard in the capitol's central market area. Panic ridden screams soon followed; pedestrians, shoppers and merchants alike began fleeing in droves. Not a single city guard responded to the scene. In light of the Prime Minister's command to have them monitor the palace walls for signs of Night Raid, it wasn't hard to imagine why.

At the sight of the crash was the remains of Kurome's dragon being consumed by the ethereal corrosive Akame had inflicted upon it. At the rate the acid was moving, the dragon was sure to be dissolved within the minute. Kurome herself was right next to her pet, lying face down on the ground in a pool of her own blood with her body motionless. She had clearly taken the full brunt of the fall.

Akame, on the other hand, was more fortunate. She was lying within hay on the back of an abandoned wagon. Whether it was dumb luck or last second planning, one couldn't be sure, but it was clear that she had survived the fall without injury. Upon making certain that her faculties were in check, she hopped out from the back of the wagon with a steady grip on Murasame's hilt. And with good reason.

Before the acid could completely corrode the beast, it turned into dust much like Kurome's Apeman puppet had back in Ali Jinnah. The implications were clear. The black eyed Jaegar had once again used her trump card to cheat death. A fact that was verified as she suddenly hopped back on her feet like a spring chicken. No sign of an injury whatsoever.

"That was a close one, sis", Kurome said, dusting herself off. "Had I known you would've come up with a way to kill my dragon, I would've spent some time looking for new puppets to add to my reserves. But as of right now, you killed my only one."

"Revealing your hand to your opponent is never a sound strategy", Akame said, walking towards her younger sister.

"You would've figured it out in no time. You always were two steps ahead of me after all."

"Does this mean you're giving up?"

To which Kurome smirked cheekily before dashing towards the fleeing crowd. "Nope!"

The older sister immediately gave chase. But as she pursued her, she noticed that her sister was randomly cutting down people in the fleeing crowd. Men, women and children alike; the Jaegar was very indiscriminate in who she cut down, but she was slaughtering many while running away.

"Stop!", Akame yelled, steadily gaining on her younger sister.

But Kurome paid her older sister no mind, gleefully continuing to run around and commit mayhem as if playing a friendly game of tag. "You'll have to catch me first, sis!" And run she did. From the central market area to the slums, she continued to keep out of her sister's reach.

The chase continued until Akame was but a few meager feet behind the Jaegar. "Enough of this!" She promptly vaulted herself into the air and landed right in front of her younger sister, cutting her off and forcing her to flee into another direction. Kurome immediately made a beeline towards a narrow alleyway to the left of her path, only to realize that she had waltzed right into a dead-end.

"Nowhere else to run", Akame said, standing in the way of the alleyway's entrance.

Kurome looked around for a door, a fire-escape exit or even a window she could jump into, but all those things were many stories up between the two buildings they were between. Down at street level, she was surrounded by nothing beyond concrete walls. "Oh well. Looks like our game is over."

"Game?", Akame said, sporting an incredulous look. "Was killing all of those people in the crowd a game to you?"

Kurome turned around to face her sister, smirking as cheekily as she had been smirking when their little chase had begun. "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, A, B, A, B, Start!"

Akame saw no further point in attempting to reason with her deranged sibling. Her mind was too far gone and that last response showed. If she had reached a point at which she was willing to senselessly kill random people, there was no telling the things she'd be capable of doing were her mind allowed to continue deteriorating. With no intention of allowing that to happen, Akame dashed towards her sister once more, determined to end her life before her condition grew any worse.

Kurome, having no choice but to fight back, followed suit. She met her sister head on, pouring down a series of aggressive swipes. Too aggressive in fact. The subtlety and grace in her swordsmanship had vanished and she was swinging her blade like a madwoman. It was as if she had thrown away any pretense of defending herself and was solely focused on inflicting a fatal blow no matter what the cost.

Seeing her younger sister's conduct made Akame wonder. Another sign of her deteriorating mental condition? She briefly entertained the thought, but pushed it aside. For it didn't matter. She had already decided that she needed to put Kurome out of her misery. Additional confirmation of the need to do so didn't matter at this point. Instead, she intended to take advantage of her sister's recklessness.

At the very next moment, Kurome had swung her imperial arm like a baseball bat. Akame easily ducked her attack before transitioning her moves into a quick two-handed upwards diagonal slash across her sister's chest, causing her to stumble back a couple of steps.

The younger sibling looked down upon the wound she had just incurred and could already see Murasame's black ethereal markings coursing towards her neck and stomach. "Not too shabby, sis. Looks like you finally beat me."

"Kurome . . .", Akame said, lowering her sword towards the ground.

"Just kidding!", she quipped while following up with another wild and surprise swing. And surprising it was as Akame had already lowered her guard. She managed to step back in the nick of time just enough to avoid harm to any of her vital organs, but Kurome had nonetheless had a clean cut on her side.

The surprised look on Akame's face remained. Not because of her sister's sudden attack, but rather her sister's skin. Murasame's black ethereal markings had disappeared. What's more, the wound she had inflicted across her chest had as well. Putting two and two together, she suddenly understood why her sister had killed so many people in the crowd during their chase.

"Lets see", Kurome said, inquisitively rubbing her chin. "I killed 29 people before you cornered me in this alleyway. 29 plus me equals 30. 30 lives. You just killed me, so now I'm down to 29. I only need to hit one of your vitals once and it's over. You, on the other hand, need to kill me 29 times. See sis? It IS a game! Sorry I didn't explain the rules until now!"

Determined to kill her younger sister, Akame didn't pause to think or inquire into the limitations of Yatsufasa's trump card. Her objective was crystal clear and nothing was going to get in the way of ending this Jaegar's life. She lunged at Kurome like a red eyed demon out from the pits of hell, coming at her with an entire encyclopedia of assassination techniques.

Kurome could not compete; she was completely overwhelmed by her sister's tactics. But that didn't appear to matter to her. Whether it was the result of her acknowledging Akame's superiority or her steadily slipping sanity, she had given up the basics of traditional swordsmanship and was swinging her blade recklessly and without regard. And with her augmented longevity, perhaps defense wasn't really cause for concern. After all, she only needed one slice to prevail and had 29 remaining opportunities.

Though in the blink of an eye, 29 became 28 as Akame landed a devastating slash on Kurome's throat. At the exact same time, Kurome also landed another cut, this time on the arm but in no way significant enough to impair the older sister's attacks. And just like last time, Murasame's black ethereal markings briefly appeared on Kurome's wound before disappearing.

In the span of 3 minutes, 28 went from 27 to 26 to 25 to 24 and the same exact sort of exchange had repeated itself four times. Akame would land a killing blow, Kurome would land a simultaneous cut and expend another puppet to heal herself. "Only a matter of time, sis. Only a matter of time before I – what the . . ."

Akame had lunged towards her once more, completely surpassing her previous level of viciousness by focusing all of her strength and effort into her young sister's right shoulder. With that one blow, she had cleaved Kurome's right arm clean off. A task made simple by her complete disregard for defense.

Kurome glanced down upon the ground, taking note of her severed appendage with Yatsufasa still tightly gripped in its clutches. But she didn't appear remotely concerned even as Murasame's ethereal black markings had once again returned. "I hope that wasn't your big plan, sis. Whether I'm actually holding Yatsufasa has nothing to do with whether I can use it."

Sure enough, Kurome expended another puppet and nullified Murasame's effects again. She then reached down to grab her severed arm, presumably having the ability to reattach it. Only Akame had no intention of allowing this to happen; she floored her by executing a swift leg sweep. Kurome attempted to get back up, but Akame would not allow this to happen either; she planted one foot over her sister's left arm and the other foot over her throat. Then, showing no mercy or hesitation, she plunged her katana right through her younger sister's chest.

Determined to survive, Kurome immediately dispelled Murasame's effects by expending another puppet, but it was to no avail for Akame's blade remained lodged in her chest and Akame herself wasn't budging in inch. 21 . . . 20 . . . 19 . . . 18 . . . 17 . . . 16 . . . 15 . . . 14 . . . 13 . . . 12 . . . 11 . . . 10. Kurome was struggling with all of her might to break free, but it was no use. With Murasame lodged in her chest, she was forced to continue expending puppets. Utterly no use. 9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . .

Her assassin instincts having completely taken over, Akame paused for a brief instant before leaping off her younger sister's body and turning around in response to an unfamiliar aura she felt drawing near at a rapid velocity. Just as she did this, an armor clad figure dropped right out of the sky like a free falling meteorite having broken through the earth's atmosphere. The friction brushing against this figure was so great that the figure's entire body was engulfed in flames while descending. This figure landed on the ground in the blink of an eye, causing a miniature crater to form around him.

" _Is that . . . Wave_?", Akame thought, feeling uneasy about the aura she was sensing. She remembered her last encounter with the armor clad Jaegar at the Revolutionary Army base. There, he proved himself to be a formidable enemy, but with a sense of virtue not too different than the kind she had seen in Tatsumi. It was obvious just based on the way he had been interacting Leone. Here, however, she couldn't sense such a spirit. Instead, his aura was . . . cold and robotic.

* * *

 **[. . .** _ **Lady Luck**_ **. . . ]**

* * *

The emperor, the real Emperor Makoto, had been sitting patiently in a small storage room, evidently one of the palace's panic rooms, waiting for Night Raid's extermination. And yet the sounds coming from the room directly above room made him uneasy. It was obvious that a battle had been going on, but he didn't know how the battle had been unfolding. All he did know was that the Jaegar, Wave, had been charged to stand guard up there.

For some time, he had been listening closely to the sounds coming from above, only to hear them come to an abrupt end. He had continued sitting silently, expecting the noble Jaegar to come down through the hidden trap door above and tell him that everything was okay. That Night Raid had been beaten and that everything was back to normal.

But after a full five minutes of silence, his uneasiness got the better of him. "Sir Wave, is it safe to come out yet?", he said, hoping for a response.

None was heard, so he asked his again, this time more frantic. "Sir Wave, is it safe to come out yet?"

Still no reply. He began to fear the worst. That Night Raid had killed the honorable Jaegar. "Sir Wave, please answer me at once!"

No reply. Not a word. "Sir Wave! Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

Immediately, the trap door from above rushed open. Makoto smiled at the sight of this, relieved that his assigned champion had returned. His smile immediately faded away, however, as someone else dropped through the trap door: Leone; an assassin he didn't recognize given that she never appeared on wanted posters.

Leone was still in a sorry state given the hole in her chest. Just based on her appearance alone, she was in no condition to fight; she could barely stand up straight. In fact, she would surely have been dead if not for her regenerative abilities. "Yo", she said, greeting the emperor in the only way she knew how.

"Are you with Night Raid?"

"Sure am."

"Where is Sir Wave?"

Leone shuddered to think at what had happened to him. She wasn't sure what to make of how their fight had ended. "He's gone . . . I think."

"I see. In that case, I know this is going to sound strange, but could you please hear me out for a moment before you do what you intend to do."

She raised one of her eyebrows, not having expected the boy to be so chatty. "Um . . .sure, I guess."

"Once you've killed me, could you please spare the Prime Minister and the palace? I'm the one you want, so if anyone is going to die, let it be me and no one else."

* * *

 **[. . .** _ **Checkmate**_ **. . . ]**

* * *

"Well go on", Lubbock said, eying his adversary on the other end of the chess table. "Weren't you about to make your decision?"

"Indeed", Run replied. Rubbing his chin in a curious fashion, he hovered his left hand over the glove in front of him. "After evaluating the options before me, I choose . . ."

With an unbelievably air tight poker face, Lubbock retorted with "You sure that's the one you want to pull? Remember, we are playing for keeps."

Run casually shifted his hand away from the glove to the left hand side of the table. "Are we, now? Only one way to find out." Holding one hand beneath the edge of the chess table's left side, the Jaegar did the unthinkable; he knocked the table over. And sure enough, Cross Tail's wires were so sensitive that before the table could even fall completely to the side, both Lubbock and Run fell clean through the floor; before they even knew it, they were both plummeting down towards the bottomless pit below. And not just them, but the chess table, their chairs and the center platform of the walkway itself.

Sparing no time to dawdle, Lubbock speedily and instinctively reached for an item he appeared to have stored in one of his sleeves; he pulled out . . . an extra band of wires. Strangely enough, however, these wires weren't attached to either of his Cross Tail gloves, yet looked identical to the wires stored within them; a literal trick up his sleeve. Before he could fall any further, the assassin used this extra set of wires to lasso himself onto what remained of the broken walkway above.

And just like that, Lubbock was in the exact same position he was in at the start of this encounter. Idly dangling from the walkway above. Only this time, he felt the weight of someone else holding onto one of his ankles from below. As he looked down, he saw Run dangling beneath him and holding onto him with one of his arms for dear life.

Though despite the precarious position he was in, Run wasn't the slightest bit unnerved. Instead, he maintained a confident smirk, acting as if he were the one in control of the situation. "Just as I suspected. It didn't matter which glove I pulled; you never had any intention of putting your own life at risk. Not your own life and most certainly not your imperial arm."

Lubbock looked up towards the what remained of the walkway, confirming with his own eyes that his two gloves were now affixed, via their own wires, next to the portion he had lassoed. "Not bad. You saw right through me."

"But the battle of wits isn't over yet, is it? Given that you thought in advance to come up with a contingency to keep your imperial arm from falling, you must have also anticipated that I would knock the table over rather than try and guess which glove would lead to my demise. The only question is: What's your next move?"

"Don't you mean your next move? You were so focused on what I would do that I notice you've neglected to retrieve your imperial arm. Good like finding it now."

"A small sacrifice to pay in putting you in check and cutting off all of your options. Go ahead and climb the both of us to safety."

"So that while I'm focused on climbing, you can stay focused on taking me out at the last possible second?"

To which Run chuckled, "No one ever said check was a desirable position."

Lubbock delivered a swift kick with his free leg down towards his Jaegar adversary, but Run both dodged the blow with zero effort and also used his other hand to grab a hold of said leg. "Don't insult me", he said, dismissing the use of such a primitive tactic. "I'm stronger than I look. Make your next move or do you really intend to end our battle of wits on such a petty note?"

"Says the guy who flipped the board!"

"An assassin complaining about foul play. Now I've seen it all. Can we hurry this up? I have other business to attend to."

"Yeah, lets hurry this along", Lubbock replied, having sported a sudden grin.

To which Run narrowed his eyes, not liking the look on his adversary's face. "What are you up to?"

"What do you think is down there?", Lubbock asked, glancing at the bottomless pit below.

"I haven't a clue. Until today, I wasn't even aware of this part of the palace."

"Guess there's only one way to find out!"

To Run's absolute astonishment, Lubbock released his hands from his extra band of wires. "Are you insane?!"

And just like that, they were both once again plunging down into this seemingly infinite chasm. The Jaegar simply could not believe that his esteemed opponent would resort to such a suicidal tactic, briefly recalling what he said at the beginning of their encounter about the need to go help his teammates. Was all of that talk simply misdirection?

After an additional 500 feet of freefalling, the cavern's dim light was all but snuffed out. Run was at a point where he couldn't even see his own hands in front of him. Nonetheless, he didn't appear to be worried. And his next course of action clarified his lack of concern. In a shocking display, his two floating metal discs reappeared on his back. And out from this discs sprouted two angelic wings. With his mastery over flight and levitation, the Jaegar's fall was broken in no time. "A pity our battle of wits ended in such a distasteful fashion, but I suppose I should not have expected anything else from an assassin."

"Oh really?", said a voice echoing next to the Jaegar's ear. "Something tells me you didn't expect THIS."

Run slightly turned his head, baffled at what had apparently occurred. The fall must've disoriented his senses for a few moments as he didn't realize that someone was holding onto his back and had their arm around his neck until then. "Of course. The light. You anticipated the trajectory at which I would fall and used the lack of light to conceal your movements. But how did you know Mastema was still in my possession?"

"A good friend of mine stole an imperial research notebook from a prick by the name of Syura. I had already encountered you before, so I knew which imperial arm you had. Miss Najenda made us all memorize the available information on each Jaegar's imperial arm before the mission. Those two rings you put down on the table were nothing but a cheap parlor trick at best. Mastema is really that feather pin behind your left ear. You only pretended to lose it so you could launch a surprise attack if necessary and so I wouldn't think of trying something like this."

"I see. Very clever. But you still haven't won."

"Like you, I'm stronger than I look as well. I've got you in a rear naked choke right now. All it takes is the right amount of pressure and you will die within 5 seconds at most."

"And unless you have your own set of wings, if I die, you will fall and die as well. Thus, we are at an bigger impasse than we were before."

"That's okay!", Lubbock said with a hearty laugh. "It gives us a chance to chat!

"You'll forgive me if I'm not as enthusiastic about chatting with someone with an arm wrapped around my throat."

"As you said, we're at an impasse. So it's not like you have anything better to do right now."

"Very true. So what is it you'd like to talk about?"

"Being born into a family of merchants, I've always had a knack for negotiation."

"You can forget it. There can be no negotiation between parties whose interests are mutually exclusive. You all want to assassinate and overthrow the emperor. We want to stop you. It's that simple."

To which Lubbock sighed, "One of the reasons I orchestrated our battle of wits was to buy some time."

"Time for what?"

"Buy some time for Miss Najenda to find Syura. Assuming he is in fact using Spectator and his attention is focused on her now, then maybe . . ."

* * *

 **[** _**. . . Tatsumi's Greatest Enemy? . . .**_ **]**

* * *

Akame stood still, her eyes trained on the Grand Chariot wielder. With any other adversary, she would have already commenced dealing with them, but there was something about Wave that made him an unknown quantity at that time. Something about him that made Akame cautious. Something about him that made Akame hesitant. Even though he was just standing still across from her, she didn't know what to make of his intentions. Not to mention his eyes. His cold glowing blue eyes sent chills down her spine.

Seeing that her elder sister was preoccupied with her teammate, Kurome used this opportunity to grab her right arm and reattach it back to her body, a feat no doubt made feasible by Yatsufasa's trump card. She then set her gaze on her fellow Jaegar. "This is my fight, Wave. I'm going to have to ask you not to . . ." She wasn't able to finish the sentence, eyes widening as she gazed upon the man on the other end of the alleyway. It most certainly wasn't the man she had come to confide in throughout her time in the Jaegars.

Wave started to walk towards Akame. Being the prodigious assassin that she was, she could tell that even while walking, there were zero openings she could exploit in his movements. She ran through dozens of scenarios in her mind where she lunged towards him with all different manners of attacks; each scenario resulted in her swift and brutal death.

It was this sense of overwhelming power from a single being that then made her immediately understand where all of her hesitation was coming from. Not quite the result of Wave being an unknown quantity, but that she had already faced someone who exuded this sort of strength and impossible fortitude. In fact, she had been training with this person for the last five days: Tatsumi. Tatsumi. Like Leone, she had also trained with her Incursio wielding comrade relentlessly in an effort to help him to acquire complete mastery over his new abilities.

In truth, however, her efforts had only initially been centered around helping Tatsumi. Being bested by him countless times, she began trying in earnest to beat him, inadvertently augmenting her own skills in the process. It was then that she truly came to understand her comrade's new fighting style. " _If he's anything like Tatsumi, I can't afford to let this drag out. He'll adapt to any style I throw at him and finish me for sure. Getting careless is also out of the question; he'll exploit any mistake I make and make me pay for it. I've only got one option."_

Muscles tensing, Akame gently pressed the tip of her thumb against Murame's blade as she had done earlier, no doubt intending to settle this with her trump card. As green ethereal markings extended all across her sword, she sheathed her weapon only to then slip straight into a classic iaijutsu posture. Iajutsu was a style focused on using the momentum of drawing the sword with alarming speed to strike a target in one fluid motion. In the hands of an elite swordswoman like Akame, it was usually certain death for whichever unsuspecting opponent was fool enough to challenge her. Even so, Wave didn't cease walking or slip into a more orthodox stance; he continued drawing near like the grim reaper.

"Wave!", Kurome cried out. "Are you listening to me? Stop! I have to save my sister!"

There was no response from the Grand Chariot wielder. There wasn't even indication that he heard what Kurome had just said. He continued drawing closer to Akame, as if she was all that existed. As if killing her was the only thing that mattered. Before Wave could take another step, Akame unsheathed her blade at lightning speed in true Iajutsu fashion. Though just as soon as soon as her blade was unsheathed, Wave was suddenly up close and personal and on the verge of at very least caving in her skull with his right fist.

Wave's fist collided with something alright, but not Akame's skull. Instead, it was the broad side of Murasame. A block; she had relied on iajutsu not as a means to cut her target down as quickly as possible, but to defend herself from an attack she knew she would otherwise not have been quick enough to avoid. " _Even if your eyes are just like Tatsumi's, it doesn't look like you've had time to adjust and get used to them just yet and so there's no way you'd know how susceptible they are to unorthodox tactics._ "

With no intention of letting this temporary opening go to waste, she shifted her weight into a follow-up attack. It didn't matter what she cut; as she had proven with Kurome's dragon, it only took a single cut for her acid to do the job against even the most armored of foes. Just as her slice was about to land, however, a seemingly ordinary bystander who had been fleeing in the crowd earlier, grabbed onto Akame from behind in a full nelson position, stopping her from landing her intended coup de grace. No doubt one of Kurome's new puppets.

Having no allusions of honor or fair play in his current state, Wave clenched his left fist with the intent of finishing off his defenseless adversary. Before he could make another move, however, Kurome grabbed his left hand from behind, pleading with him and with tears in her eyes. "Stop it! Only I can face her! If you do it, one of will die! I want to protect everyone, so please stop. For my sake, don't do anything else! I'm begging you!"

What happened next was something neither sister ever expected. The Grand Chariot wielder promptly raised his left fist and backhanded Kurome hard enough to snap her neck and send her body flying into one of the concrete walls. Akame could hardly believe what had just occurred; it was impossible to fathom that the same person she had encountered back at the Revolutionary Army base was capable of such cruelty.

With no further distractions in place, Wave looked directly upon Akame. He raised his right fist. He no doubt intended to do to her what he had done to Leone. Akame struggled to break free of the bystander's hold, but couldn't budge. While her agility, skill and endurance were each unquestionably superhuman, her raw physical strength was a different story. A limitation that appeared to be her undoing as Wave hurled his fist forward before even another second could pass.

But what he hit was yet again not Akame. It was not the broad side of her sword this time either. This time, it was . . . Kurome. She managed to intercept her comrade's attack at the last possible instant. As a result, she now had another hole in chest. "I won't . . . let anyone . . . take my sister", she weakly said, coughing up blood. "Not even you."

"Kurome . . .", Wave said, having uttered words for the first time since his earlier encounter with Leone. The cold and robotic aura he had been emitting had vanished without a trace and it looked as if he were suddenly more cognizant of his surroundings. As he glanced upon where his fist was buried, he swiftly pulled it out. "Did I . . . do this?"

Kurome fell to the ground in a pool of her own blood, having completely lost consciousness. Having taken in the horrifying sight as much as his mind was able to, he began screaming uncontrollably. His Grand Chariot armor dispersed as he did so. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

At that moment, Akame felt the grip on her arms loosen considerably, giving her the edge she needed to break free of the bystander's hold. And just as she did so, she also noticed it turning into a pile of dust as had been the case with Apeman puppet back in Ali Jinnah when she had fist seen Kurome's trump card in action.

In direct response to this, the hole in Kurome's chest vanished. He immediately rushed down towards his companion and cradled her in his arms. A quick check of the pulse confirmed that she was still amongst the living. " _How is this possible?_ ", he thought.

Akame observed the pair with her usual indifference. "I take it this is the first time you've actually seen Yatsufasa's trump card."

"I wasn't aware she could use it without being awake."

"Neither was I", Akame replied before pointing her blade towards her younger sister. "Not that it matters. She's down to her last life."

Wave gritted his teeth, cursing himself for letting his guard down in front of someone he knew to be an enemy. He looked down at Grand Chariot; his imperial arm had been reverted to its dormant cutlass state. Filled with a sudden sense of disgust and self-loathing, he simply couldn't bring himself to use this accursed weapon again, especially after what he had just done.

"Get out of the way or you'll die with her."

"I know I'm in no position to do this, but . . . can we make a deal?"

"A deal?", Akame scoffed. "You're right. You aren't in any position to be making any deals."

"Hear me out. If I . . . if I don't resist and let you kill me right now, can you promise to spare Kurome? Lock her up if you must, but don't kill her."

"No deal. Locking her up won't accomplish anything."

"Won't accomplish anything? Listen to yourself! You're talking about your own sister here. Do you think you'll be able to go on living knowing that you killed her."

"It doesn't matter. What I'm doing is not for my sake, but for her own. I don't want her to keep suffering. You must've noticed by now. She's losing her mind piece by piece. It's only a matter of time until she loses it completely."

"So you're just going to kill her? What kind of solution is that? Have you ever thought of trying to cure her?!"

"None of Yatsufasa's prior users have ever been cured. Believe me, this is not a decision I made overnight. I've done months of research on the experiments the imperial army has been conducting on her. An ordinary person would never be able to use her imperial arm without immediately going insane, but they loaded Kurome up on drugs that have only succeeded in slowing down Yatsufasa's effects."

"So what! If you're determined to kill her, fine, but don't think for a minute that it's being done for her sake. Because if you ask me, I think it's being done for yours!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're acting as if she already lost her mind! Well she hasn't! Not completely! She still loves her big sister and wants nothing more than to be with her. You're really going to deny her that because you don't want to see what might happen eventually?!"

"I don't have a choice!"

"Yes you do! As long as Kurome is still living and breathing, there's a choice! And if you aren't willing to see that, then I'll find a blasted cure myself! Even if I have to search every inch of the planet!

Akame's sword hand was trembling. Where Wave's fists had failed, his words appeared to have succeeded in hitting her. She thought she had made up mind on this matter; she had firmly decided to end her sister's life . . . but these words Wave was expressing . . . "You wouldn't even know where to begin looking."

"I'll start somewhere!"

"You don't know how long the search will take."

"I'll search as long as it takes!"

"You don't even know if a cure exists."

"And you don't know if one doesn't exist!"

Akame shook her head. Such headstrong tenacity. The likes of which she had only seen in Tatsumi. She stood motionless for a few moments, no doubt wavering on what to do next. But before anything else could be said, she noticed a sudden bolt of lightning in the sky. A strange occurrence given the utter lack of clouds in the sky. Even more strange was that the lightning appeared not to have come out from the sky, but up from the ground. Up from the vicinity of the palace.

* * *

 **[. . .** _**Raison D'être**_ **. . . ]**

* * *

Tatsumi had crouched down on one knee next to his short sword. He had yet to remove it from where it had been plunged. Rather, he took this as an opportunity to partake in a brief respite. After all, now that he had done the deed, there was nothing else for him to immediately concern himself with.

The Night Raid assassin aimlessly gazed upon into the sky above the courtyard, mentally deliberating on his next course action, only to hear the words "What are you doing?"

He averted his gaze from the sky; he looked down next to where he was kneeling. There, Esdeath lied, still breathing and still amongst the living. Tatsumi's blade had been plunged into the ground no more than a mere centimeter away from the right side of her head. "The battle isn't over yet", she remarked.

Tatsumi blankly looked upon her for a few moments before looking back towards the sky. "It is for me."

"Pity is the worst insult you could ever hand a warrior, Tatsumi. I do not want it. Go ahead and finish what you came here to do."

"I've already done what I came here to do."

"You said you were here to kill me."

"No, I said I was here to stop you."

"I'm still alive."

"Alive and beaten."

"After all of this, I thought you had finally overcome your naïve views on the way the world works. In case you've already forgotten, I am your enemy. I am the reason 99% of the men and women in the Revolutionary Army are dead. Under my command, thousands have been plundered, raped and buried alive. Every member of the Revolutionary Army, including Najenda, would do many unspeakable acts just to have the opportunity you have right now."

"I know all about your history, Esdeath. I'm still not going to kill you."

"Can you not see the foolishness that is inherent in your wretched sense of pity? If I survive today, I'm just going to keep doing everything I just pointed out to you and all of it will be on your hands."

"Will you? I'm not so sure. You don't seem so sure of yourself anymore."

"Is that why you're keeping me alive? So you can rub it in? How trivial. This isn't the first time I've been defeated. You've won. Get it over with already."

"You'd prefer I killed you. You'd prefer to go out believing what your father told you. That the strong lived and the weak died. That I won because I was strong and you lost because you were weak. But that's not going to happen."

She let out a reluctant sigh, realizing that Tatsumi's mind wasn't going to change. "The strong shall live and the weak shall die. The past 10 years of my life have been fanatically molded around those words. Those words he repeated to me on the day he died. Since then, I've been constantly going out of my way to live in accordance to that philosophy. It's the real reason I stopped hunting danger beast and started hunting humans. I had to continually prove to myself that it was the truth. As long as I was strong, it didn't matter what I did. My strength was all that mattered."

"And yet despite everything you've done over the last 10 years, you couldn't completely dispose of your humanity. That is why you still cherish your father's memory. That is why you sought out companionship. And that is also why you couldn't let go of the guilt in your heart."

"Heh. I've lost, so there's no longer any reason for me to deny it. You're right. I was such a foolish girl back then. When I had left to go hunt in the mountains, my father must've been worried about me. Him and a number of other villagers probably put the repairs to the village walls on hold and must've been out looking for me. He must've been caught off guard. Had I stayed in the village, there's no way he would have ever been killed by the likes of the Northern Tribe. Not a chance in hell. He knew that, so he instead told me to blame his death on his own weakness. I always wondered how he could've been killed by some Northern Tribe vermin, but now it makes sense. He died because his idiot daughter was desperate for his affections."

"Maybe he really did mean it. From what I understand, that wasn't the first time your father explained to you that the strong shall live and the weak die."

"My father was not a fool. He did believe in survival of the fittest, but he would certainly have been able to tell the difference between death as the result of one's weakness and death as a result of a fluke. The Northern Tribes killing him was a fluke created by my foolishness. I've seen the strongest the Northern Tribes have had to offer and not even their weak and pathetic prince, Numa Seika, could have ever held a candle to him. When it came to combat, he was a god."

"You understand all of this, but still want me to kill you?"

"Don't you understand, Tatsumi? You were right. Deep down, I've been aware of the truth the entire time. Deep down, I knew all along that I was to blame for my father and my clan's death. And yet I've done nothing but run and hide from this fact for an entire decade now. I've slaughtered many people believing it was a testament of my strength, but it really just a testament of my weakness. Worst of all, when you made me aware of this, I desperately wanted to kill you. You of all people. You in the hopes of continuing to perpetuate this lie. It's pathetic. Strongest general in the Grand Empire and sole survivor of the Partas Clan? I was nothing but a sniveling coward this entire time; a naïve deluded little girl afraid to face the truth. How could you possibly expect me to live with myself while knowing that?"

He averted his gaze from the sky once while shaking his head. He then glanced back upon the Ice Queen, this time with a knowing look in his eyes. "Because not too long ago, I was in your position. Like you, there are some parts of my life I deeply regret. I didn't think I could live with myself either. But that's not the case."

Hearing these words, Esdeath's expression changed to one of confusion. She silently beckoned him to go on. In her mind, the shame and guilt she had consciously come to realize was too great, yet Tatsumi stood before her disagreeing. A part of her was prepared to dismiss his words as pity, something she was defiantly against accepting, but another part wanted to hear him out.

"Your father's name: It was Vater, wasn't it?"

"How did you . . .?"

"During our assassination mission in Bestimmung, I met a close friend of his. A good man by name Klaus Hartmann. I'll never forget what he told me. What matters. . . what truly matters in your life isn't how strong or weak you are, but how you choose to live it. It took me a while, but I finally understood what he meant. Just as strength and weakness don't define it, your guilt doesn't either. It's how you choose to live that determines what you are."

"How I choose to live?", Esdeath remarked, stammering in disbelief.

"That's why . . . I've chosen not to kill you here despite everything you done. It has nothing to do with pity. Rather . . ." Tatsumi paused, recalling the end of his encounter in the dream like world Incursio had created for him. Specifically, how in the final moments, he had rushed towards the Esdeath manifestation Incursio had created. What had followed was the sound of a sword plunging through flesh. Only . . . it wasn't the flesh of the Esdeath manifestation before him or even the Tyrant silhouette behind it. In that false reality, the Night Raid assassin had plunged his blade through one of his own legs. A move that left the Esdeath manifestation visibly astonished, but a move Incursio understood the significance of nonetheless.

". . . I decided that I'm done killing others. The life I choose to live is one where I will never kill another human being."

Esdeath maintained her gaze. The confused look in her eyes was replaced by a quizzical one; she stared blankly at Tatsumi for a couple of moments, trying to make certain she didn't mishear what he had just said. "How can you of all people possibly spout such nonsense? You are an assassin. You are a professional killer. What could you possibly hope to achieve by refusing to kill?"

"The life I want to live; the life I had, up until recently, convinced myself was impossible."

"How you can utter such foolishness is beyond belief. This is a kill or be killed world, Tatsumi. There is no place for your naïve ideals."

"Naïve ideals, huh? Didn't you just admit you spent the last 10 years of your life clinging to naïve ideals?"

"That's correct", Esdeath said before laughing in self-defeat. "It would seem we have a lot more in a common than I ever dared to realize. But surely you realize that my own naivety doesn't absolve you of yours."

"Whether it's naïve or not, it's the path I've chosen and the only one I'll take with a clear conscience."

"I'll ask one last time. Are you sure you don't wish to finish me off? Who is to say that I don't one day come back to get my revenge? I am a sore loser after all. And the Prime Minister is sure to send me after you after today's little spectacle."

"No, I'm done killing people. As for the Prime Minister, I wouldn't worry about him."

"Oh?", she asked, sporting a whimsical smirk. "Does that mean you're already going to make an exception to your new absurd no-killing agenda?"

Before Tatsumi could answer, he heard and noticed a sudden bolt of lightning in the sky. The same bolt Akame had noticed. Only he was much closer where the bolt had sprouted out from.

* * *

 **[** _ **. . . The Dark Horse Revealed . . .**_ **]**

* * *

Feeling as if he had basked in his victory long enough, the Prime Minister stood up from the emperor's throne and began treading towards the two people currently at his mercy. "This has been an amusing little game, but I'm afraid there are some other matters I need to tend to before the great Prime Minister Honest meets his untimely end heroically saving the emperor from the evils of Night Raid. Who knows? Bards might even sing stories about it. I can hardly wait!"

"The only question now is who to kill first", Honest said before glaring at Najenda. "Perhaps the disgraced ex-general. You've been a thorn in my side for some time now and not just with your petty revolutionary army antics. Don't think I've forgotten how you ordered your minions to assassinate my nephew, Iokal. He was a stupid son of a bitch, but no one is allowed to kill a blood relative of mine without my permission."

Honest then turned his gaze towards Syura. "Speaking of blood relatives, maybe I should start with my worthless son. After all your dear old man has done for you, this is how you repay me?"

"Fat old bastard", Syura grunted, still reeling in the pain from Najenda's last attack as well as the bullet in his leg.

"You're just all sorts of failure, aren't you son? I had a full supply of stimulants made just so you could finally use Shambhala in rapid succession, but even with that advantage and the ability to read minds, you still lost to a crippled woman. It's embarrassing. Still, if not for your treachery, I would never have been on the verge of obtaining the power I'm about to have. So for that, I'll praise you and kill little miss Najenda first."

He walked up to the Night Raid commander before cocking his handgun. "Well General Najenda: Do you have any last words? If you beg for mercy, I just might change my mind about killing you first."

"Sorry, but I don't beg. Though if I'm going to die, I'd at least like to know one thing."

"Interesting", Honest said, inquisitively running the fingers on his free hand through his beard. "And what would the great General Najenda like to know before she dies?"

"It's no secret that Emperor Makoto puts all of his faith and trust in you. It's obvious the boy thinks the world of you. At very least the closest thing to a father. Despite all of this, are you really just going to let him die today without lifting a finger?"

"Damn right I am!", Honest laughed and boasted without a single hint of remorse. "That little brat has served me well over the years, but he's outlived his usefulness. Besides, he's been growing some brain cells as of late. He actually had the nerve to disregard one of my suggestions last week. There's no telling how much harder he'll be to control in the future. Best to toss him aside now and start calling all of the shots directly."

"So then it was just an act all along then, wasn't it? You never once cared about the emperor, did you?"

The Prime Minister could barely contain his laughter. "You're just now figuring this out?!" Redeem some dignity before you die, General Najenda, and stop asking stupid questions!"

Surprisingly, Najenda began chuckling herself before sporting a confident smirk on her lips. "Prime Minister Honest, you're finished."

"Finished? You seem to forget who's holding the gun and who is barely standing, woman. Here, let me remind you who's finished as I send you to hell." Honest pulled the trigger on his firearm, but it wouldn't budge for some odd reason. He pressed it repeatedly, but it didn't move. He pressed with all the force he could muster, but nothing happened. "Damn piece of junk! What's going on here?!"

Increasingly frustrated, Honest examined his gun closer, only to detect exceedingly thin wires tied around it in such a way as to obstruct the trigger from being pulled. With some additional scrutiny, he also noticed where the wires were coming from; the source of the wires were coming from an upwards direction. The gluttonous old man looked all the way up, immediately noticing a vent directly above where he was standing. "What . . . in the world?"

At that exact moment, the vent was kicked wide open and Lubbock could be seen looking down waving his hand with a big smile on his face. Panicking, the Prime Minister swiftly dropped his gun, ran to his son and grabbed the silk glove off his right hand. " _They must've already killed the emperor. No matter. With Shambahla, I'll just whisk my way to safety."_

"Going somewhere, old man?", Lubbock sarcastically asked while descending to the floor and jerking another set of unseen wires.

Honest immediately fell down on his back, only to notice that there were wires wrapped around his ankles. He tried to reach for Syura's Shambahla, but the green haired assassin jerked him away before he could get a hold of his one means of escape.

"Not bad, General Najenda. But I've still got an ace in the hole." Not having given up just yet, the Prime Minister reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small remote with an even smaller button on it. With a cocky look in his eyes, he pushed the button. And just moments after pushing it, armed guards busted through the throne room doors. Within less than 15 seconds, hundreds of them had already flooded the room, surrounding both Najenda and Lubbock in no time.

"Wipe this Night Raid scum off the face of the earth once and for all! Gun them down before they have a chance to use their imperial arms!", Honest ordered. "And one of you go fetch General Esdeath!"

Still smirking with the utmost confidence, Najenda raised her left hand straight into the air and snapped her fingers. At the exact moment she did this, Leone appeared; the feral assassin jumped out from the ventilation shaft Lubbock had been perched in. Even more curious, however, was the fact that someone was holding onto her back as she dropped to the floor: None other than Emperor Makoto himself.

"Guards, delay that order!", the emperor commanded.

Each and every guard did just that; they all lowered their guns. Not a single one of them was fool enough to question the commands of their emperor, especially after the barbaric example that had been made of so many others in past. Ironically a lesson Honest was responsible for instilling.

"Y-y-your majesty. What are you doing here?", the Prime Minister asked, his face having gone pale.

Makoto motioned the guards to step aside so that he may look upon his most trusted advisor face to face. "Is it true?", he asked, his eyes full of disappointment.

Honest continued stammering, as if having come to realize the source of Najenda's sudden confidence. "Is w-what true, your majesty?"

"What you said about outliving my usefulness? How you were just using me all along and how you were just going to let me die? Was all that stuff you said really true?"

"Y-your majesty, you have to believe me! I think the world of you, my boy! Can't you see the truth? This . . . is . . . it's all just Night Raid's attempt to confuse you! Yeah, that's right! They're trying to confuse you and turn us against each other. You have to stand strong!"

"Your majesty", Najenda interjected. "I believe there is one way to clear your doubts. That imperial arm on Syura's head gives you the ability to read minds. That glove the Prime Minister took is called the 'Limit Breaker.' It allows you to use an imperial arm regardless of compatibility."

Makoto nodded his head and directed his attention towards one of the nearby guards. "Seize that imperial arm off Mr. Syura's head as well as the glove in the Prime Minister Honest's hand and hand them both to me."

To Honest's and Syura's displeasure, the guard did just as he was ordered. And the emperor wasted no time equipping himself with both items. He spent a couple of minutes adjusting to Spectator. Like Tatsumi had done when he attempted to use this imperial arm, he inadvertently ended up peaking at Leone and Najenda's undergarments, blushing in the process.

Nonetheless, as soon as he got the hang of it, he focused his attention on the three Night Raid members present, quickly confirming that they were not trying to deceive him. He then looked to the Prime Minister, becoming visibly angry as he ventured through his mind. It turned out that the treacherous words he had uttered earlier were only the tip of the iceberg. "I don't believe it. This whole time . . . you've just been playing me for the fool. You don't give a damn about this country!

"W-w-wait a minute your majesty! I can explain!", Honest stammered.

"Explain what?! I just read your mind! You were willing to let me die! You were willing to let everyone in the country die! You don't care about anyone but yourself!"

Sensing no way out of his current predicament, the Prime Minister finally began to lose his composure "Damnit", he growled. "This can't be happening!"

"It can and it is", Najenda boldly declared. "Face it. You've lost."

"You damn cow! You couldn't have possibly planned all of this out"

"Oh, but I did. And from the look of things, it all went down like clockwork."

"You're lying", Syura muttered. "I read your mind before we even fought. Your plan was to assassinate the emperor. Talk high and mighty all you want, but you're really no better than us."

The emperor shook his head in disagreement. "If they wanted to kill me, they could've done so. Leone here had me at her mercy earlier, but it doesn't look like it ever crossed her mind."

"But I read her mind", Syura retorted. "I read all of their minds as soon as they entered the palace. Their plan was to find you and then kill you!"

To which Najenda responded, "Poor Syura. It was overreliance on an imperial arm that insured your defeat. I knew all along that you had the ability to use multiple imperial arms just as I knew of the staggeringly likely possibility that Spectator would be one you'd use as your crutch. That is why I devised a contingency just in case."

"A contingency?", Syura growled. "What are you talking about?"

"Scientifically, there's nothing mystical or abstract about human thought. It is the process of electrical signals being generated in a series of electrochemical reactions within the brain. Spectator's mind reading power operates by duplicating the electrical signals transmitted in the target and transmitting them in the user's brain. Fortunately, I had recently come into possession of an imperial arm that enabled me to manipulate electricity. Once I learned how Spectator worked, it was only a matter of figuring out how to keep my own thoughts from being duplicated as well as send false signals to deceive the user. To put it another way, every thought you claim to have read from me or any of my subordinates were all completely fabricated."

Honest suddenly began to chuckle, as if having seen a new ace in the hole he could exploit. "If you can fabricate your thoughts, then how do we know you didn't do so when his majesty read your mind?"

But Najenda didn't appear concerned with the Prime Minister's point. Instead, she merely took the moment to detach Adramalech from her prosthetic arm and hand it to Makoto. "Here. Now if you would, your majesty, feel free to read our minds again."

The emperor did just that, only to shrug his shoulders. "Still the same."

"Now here's where it really gets interesting", Najenda remarked while shifting her gaze back towards Syura. "Right now, you must be wondering a couple of things. How was I able to anticipate that you'd confront me despite never having met you before? How did I know the machinations of Spectator's mind reading power? And how did I know both you and your father would so readily let Emperor Makoto die for your own selfish gain? The truth is that without any of this knowledge, we never would have been able to win today. Or rather, I should say that without your diary and research notebook you kept locked in the strongbox beneath your bed, none of this would have been possible."

The Prime Minister gritted his teeth as he heard this last part. "Syura, you worthless imbecile! What is she talking about?"

Syura gave no answer; he was visibly too frustrated to utter a word. But fortunately for everyone else, Najenda wasn't insistent upon keeping them all in suspense. "Under Syura's bed is a strongbox that had contained his own personal diary as well as a research notebook. The diary gave away just enough hints about his aspirations in order for me to predict that he wanted to get a hold of Gaea Foundation, eventually assassinate the emperor and become the emperor himself. The research notebook, on the other hand, appeared to have been written in the earliest days of this country. Its contents provided exhaustive information on every single imperial arm and revealed secrets I never knew about, much less even suspected. Naturally, it provided detailed information on how Spectator and even Adramalech functioned."

"Don't forget, Tatsumi", Leone added. "If he hadn't mastered Incursio, we would have had no way to contend with Esdeath, much less pull this off."

To which Najenda nodded her head. "That is correct. Tatsumi role today was crucial. Another boon we owe to having to gotten ahold of the research notebook you found, Syura."

Makoto started scratching his head, a sudden thought having occurred to him. "I'm a little confused. Ever since the Revolutionary Army emerged, we've had the palace at maximum security. It's kind of hard to believe that you would have been able to have someone sneak in without getting caught."

"Very true", Lubbock chimed. "But what if we had someone with the ability to change their appearance? Someone with an imperial such as . . . Gaea Foundation?"

Syura's face went pale upon hearing this. Hearing those two words alone, he instantly understood why his entire plan had backfired. "That little bitch", he muttered.

"Looks like you've got it figured out", Najenda replied. "By the way, Chelsea also provided us with a detailed overview of the palace's security protocol. Made it easy for us to narrow down where the emperor would be hidden. She had also tipped off your father about your little schemes with an anonymous letter she had planted prior to leaving the palace. Once we learned that your father had yet to have you seized and executed, it was obvious what he was up to. How does it feel to know you've been beaten by a dead woman? Not so good I imagine."

Syura pounded one of fist into the floor, no longer able to control his anger in the face of such humiliation. "Damn Night Raid scum!"

Feeling as if he had seen all he needed to see, the emperor removed the imperial arm he had affixed to his forehead. Eyes wavering, he was clearly uncertain about what course of action he needed to take. As such, he turned his attention to the one he perceived as being the most trustworthy person in the room. "Um . . . General Najenda, what happens now?"

To which the Night Raid commander bluntly responded, "Your majesty, I am no longer one of your generals, thus you don't need to call me that."

"Oh . . . um . . . sorry."

"As to what happens now, that's up to you."

"Well . . . up till now", he said, stammering and scratching the back of his head in a nervous fashion. "I've always had an advisor to . . . tell me what to do in this kind of situation. But I can no longer trust the Prime Minister. You though . . . you seem so confident and sure of yourself and so I . . ."

"I'm not the emperor though, your majesty. You are. And with all due respect, you have to stop putting so much weight into what other people tell you and learn how to rule this country yourself."

"Then . . . could you teach me how to do it? Up until now, I thought I was doing what was best for the Grand Empire. But . . . after reading Honest's mind, I can see now that I wasn't. That if not for you and Night Raid, the empire would not collapsed from within. Please . . . I don't want to keep hurting my country. Could you teach me what I need to do to protect it?"

"I'll help you your majesty. But only on one condition: That no matter what, you always put the needs of people throughout this country above the needs of your own; that you never EVER become anything like the Prime Minister."

"I promise!", the emperor replied after a cheerful and relieved nod."

"Your majesty . . . if I might have Adramalech back."

Makoto quickly shifted his gaze back to the prosthetic hook in his hands, nearly having forgotten that it had been handed to him. Compliantly shaking his head, he did just as requested. Najenda promptly reattached it to her metal arm. Then, for no overt reason, she charged a powerful surge of electricity into Adramalech's tip and fired off a large and powerful bolt of lightning straight through the ceiling."

"Um . . . Najenda . . what are you doing?"

"My apologies, your majesty. I'll have funds transferred to the palace treasury by tomorrow to pay for the needed repairs. It was important, however, that my other two subordinates immediately receive the message that Night Raid's final mission is complete."

"I see. Then what does this mean?"

Without hesitation, Najenda knelt before him and bowed her head, "It means that from this point forward, I, Najenda, pledge myself to your services."

"Thank you! And I, Emperor Makoto, henceforth strip Honest of his title as Prime Minister and bequeath that title to you. Henceforward, you shall be known throughout the land as Prime Minister Najenda. Moreover, I hereby declare all outstanding bounties against members of Night Raid null and void."

"Hear that, Lubbock?", Leone playfully chimed while nudging her teammate with her elbow. "Looks like you no longer have to worry about people staring at pictures of your mug when they stroll through town. Bummer that the boss is Prime Minister is now though. That excuse about having no time to date is really going to flare up now."

The green haired assassin looked a bit annoyed, especially in light of the move he had made on his commander earlier. All for nothing it seemed. "Don't rub it in!"

"Strip me of my title?!", Honest yelled in defiance, having heard as much he could bare without losing his composure. "Who do you think you are? You'd be nothing without me! I'm the one who made you emperor. I'm the one who has been advising you all these years! You think you can just up and get rid of me? Face it, you wouldn't last a minute without my guidance!"

"Your majesty", Najenda said before clearing her throat in an attention grabbing fashion. "As our first order of business, I suggest you make a decision on how to deal with the former Prime Minister as well as his treasonous son. Remember, whatever your decision is, it needs to be made for the good of the empire. Think hard on what that means and I know you'll choose correctly."

Makoto nodded his head and turned shifted his gaze towards his former chief advisor. Quietness enveloped the room as he ruminated on the matter for a good 30 seconds before finally reaching a decision. "After hearing your own thoughts, I would like nothing more than to have you executed. You and your son. But having thought about what my new Prime Minister has told me, having you executed all of the sudden is not really for the good of empire. Neither of you deserve to get off so easily with a quick death. I want both of you to live as long as possible. So you both can be tried for your crimes in front of the people and so you can live the rest of your lives suffering for what you've done. I want everyone in the empire to see that they no longer have to fear people like you two."

"You wretched child!", Honest snarled. "The people of this country are doomed no matter what happens to me! But don't worry! You'll see it for yourself one day. Yes you will!"

"Guards! Take the former Prime Minister down to the dungeon and see to it that he is given 20 lashes for every public official that has been executed for attempting to warn me about his true nature! And give his son 200 lashes for every woman that had mysteriously disappeared after being taken to his personal chambers!"

"Not so fast!", Syura muttered, revealing a mysterious syringe in his left hand. "You may have beaten my idiot father, but I'm far from done."

"What is that?", the emperor asked, not understanding how this man could think he could still prevail under the current circumstances.

But Honest, on the other hand, knew better. "Syura my boy! You still have a stimulant left? Good! Be a good lad and help your old man out by getting us out of here!"

"I saved one last stimulant just in case things things got really nasty", Syura replied while injecting himself. Within an instant, the drug immediately took effect and it looked as if he had found his second wind; despite the bullet wound in his leg and the millions of volts that had been poured through his body, Syura was pumped full of adrenaline and looked like he was full of energy. "Have fun rotting in some dungeon, old man As to me, I'm off to greener pastures!"

"Seize him!", Najenda ordered the guards.

But Syura was one step ahead of everyone else. He swiftly and nimbly grabbed the handgun his father had tossed to the floor and teleported himself out of sight before anyone could lay a hand on him.

Emperor Makoto looked around the room in a nervous fashion. "Where did he go?!"

"You can relax your majesty", Najenda assured him. "Thirty minutes before we even notified you of our intent to enter the palace, we had Tatsumi infiltrate the interior with Incursio's camouflage ability. Thanks to the report Chelsea wrote, we already knew about the stimulants as well as where Syura's room was located. I told Tatsumi to confiscate any items of interest he could find, including his stimulants and any imperial arms he had stashed away. Syura will learn all of this upon teleporting himself back to his room. Still . . . there is one other tactic he might resort to."

To which the emperor asked, "What other tactic is there?"

* * *

 **[. . .** _**One Final Gambit**_ **. . . ]**

* * *

As he watched the bolt of lightning flicker into the sky, Tatsumi's gaze was then shifted to the courtyard double doors Najenda and Lubbock had entered earlier. A sign of which the meaning was unclear to an outside observer, but more than clear to Tatsumi Having seen confirmation that Najenda's plan had gone off without a hitch, he finally sheathed the dormant Incursio back into its scabbard resting on his back. "It's finally over."

The Ice Queen, still visibly and greatly fatigued, managed to muster up enough strength to get off her back and sit up. Hearing what Tatsumi had just said, however, she instantly deduced what he was implying. "Very clever of Najenda. She must've known you wouldn't kill me, but still managed to come up with a plan to assassinate the Prime Minister that I wouldn't be able to interfere with."

Tatsumi shook his head. "Whatever happens to the Prime Minister from this point on is up to Emperor Makoto."

"Honest' little puppet? Why would Najenda care what he thinks?"

"The plan was to get him to see what Honest truly thinks of him, thereby preventing the need for a coup as was originally planned with the Revolutionary Army."

"I see", she chuckled. "Then it would seem the puppet has merely traded one master for another. Some revolution this turned out to be. And I'm obviously in no position to remain a general under Najenda's rule. Not that I would want to. I'll no doubt get charged with a litany of war crimes."

"I take it you don't intend to stay in the Capital."

"No, I don't. That is . . . unless you plan to detain me. Perhaps it's your intention to escort me to the dungeon until I can be made to 'answer for my crimes' by putting on some sham of a trial."

Tatsumi casually turned around and began walking towards the courtyard's entrance. "I came to the Capital to save my village and I joined Night Raid to put an end to the Prime Minister's tyranny. As of now, both of those goals have been met so I no longer have any reason to stay here. If they want to capture you, they'll have to do it themselves."

"Your folly knows no limit. If you value human life enough to refrain from killing anyone, why would you allow someone like me to walk away? Someone who has been responsible for more deaths than you could possibly imagine?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'll never forgive all of the suffering you've caused. Everything you've done will catch up with you eventually. Just not by my hand. But . . . despite everything you've done, I don't believe you're truly evil and I think I finally understand why"

"It is you who has gotten the wrong idea, Tatsumi", she said, her eyes now full of defiance. "My only regrets are the role I played in my father's death and the cowardice I've been clinging to since then. Don't think for a moment that I'm going to suddenly embrace your naïve notions of morality. I reject them. That's all there is to it!"

"What you choose to embrace is up to you, Esdeath. We all get to choose how we want to live. I've made my choice. There's nothing stopping you from making yours."

As if his words were a bucket of water dowsing a campfire, the defiance in the Ice Queen's eyes swiftly smoldered away. Nothing but disappointment was left in its wake. The flame that was her defiance had been sparked by her overwhelming pride. But despite her pride, she had hoped that he would turn around and try to argue with her as he had done in the past. A tendency of his that had annoyed her before, but was now something she found herself craving for.

She continued to watch Tatsumi from behind; she continued to watch him walk away. And with every step he took, she more and more began to realize that it wasn't quite his headstrong tenacity that she was craving at the moment. No, what truly concerned her wasn't having another pointless argument, but that he was . . . walking away. That he was but a mere 30 yards from leaving the courtyard; that he was but a mere 30 yards from . . . leaving her. And that just like that day her father had perished, she would be alone once more.

Esdeath promptly attempted to stand up, but it was of no use. Her body was still too fatigued. The most she could muster was a crouched position. She nonetheless stretched her right hand out in his direction. "Tatsumi wait!", she shouted in uncharacteristic desperation.

He ceased walking, stopping firm in his tracks and turning his head just enough to gaze directly upon her. "Yeah?"

"What I said earlier . . . about having no need for you. It was a lie! Please, no matter what I say, it doesn't mean my feelings for you have changed!"

Upon hearing this, Tatsumi paused for a couple of moments, allowing sheer silence to dominate the atmosphere around them. But, as if not being able to control himself, he began chuckling aloud before recreating a sight Esdeath had long burned into her memory. The sight that had caused her to fall in love with him in the first place. Just like that time he had won the tournament she was hosting, a big warm smile appeared on his face. "Mine haven't either."

Like a shy schoolgirl, she was suddenly blushing rather fiercely. She could hardly believe what she had just heard. He had hugged her, kissed her and even slept in the same bed with her on two separate occasions, but she had never heard him utter any words to that effect. Not to mention his warm innocent smile. The one she had longed to see again.

This poignant moment was short lived however. In the blink of an eye, the sound of a gunshot could be heard. A sound that ruined and interrupted everything. Whatever the source, Tatsumi had clearly been the target as he was suddenly stumbling around, trying to stay on his feet. But it didn't matter. Blood was trickling down the right side of his head and his consciousness had already faded away, leaving him to fall to the floor facedown.

Esdeath's blush had vanished in that very instant, replaced by sheer and utter horror. "TATSUMI!"

Diabolical laughter could be heard filling the entire courtyard. Said laughter was accompanied by a familiar figure walking towards the scene. "When I heard there was someone with an imperial arm that could actually give even General Esdeath a run for her money, I knew I just had to have it for myself."

The Ice Queen turned her attention towards this intrusive interloper, her eyes filled with hate and murder. "It's you."

"Oh that's right, General Esdeath. I don't believe we've formally met", he said before sardonically taking a polite bow. "The name is Syura. So good to finally make your acquaintance."

"I know exactly who you are, vermin. You're Honest's bastard child."

"You seem a tad bit, upset", Syura said while up to Tatsumi's motionless body and lifting it up by the hair. "Could it have something to do with this little punk here?"

"Get your damn filthy hands off of him!"

"It all makes sense, now!", he said with a sinister cackle. "Now I know the reason I saw the two of you together on Mount Fake a while back. Night Raid's victory could not have possibly been achieved without one of our general's whoring herself out to one of them. You were working with them this whole time, weren't you? I can't believe how much everyone has feared you all these years. You're nothing but a cheap slut!"

"I don't think you heard me. I SAID get your damn filthy hands off of him!"

"Oh yeah?", Syura retorted with another cackle. "And what are you gonna' do about it? You don't look like much in your current state. Did the two of you have a falling out? Looks like you got your ass handed to you. This is too good! In your current state, I bet I could put you down with both hands tied!"

Showing tremendous willpower, the Ice Queen grabbed her broken rapier lying right next to her, forced herself off the ground and stood back onto her legs, both of which were noticeably wobbling. "Get your damn filthy hands off of him. This is your last warning. I WON'T ask again!"

Syura immediately released his hold on Tatsumi's hair and turned his full attention to Esdeath. He didn't look worried in the slightest though. His expression bordered more along the lines of intrigue. He pointed his handgun at her for a couple of moments, knowing how easily could end this encounter. But at the last second, he decided against it; he shook his head and tossed the weapon away. "What am I thinking? I'd much rather use my hands to knock you off your high horse and put you in your place."

The Ice Queen had never shied away from any challenge and she wasn't about to start, especially since in light of what had just happened to Tatsumi. Inch by inch, she began pacing towards Syura, her legs still wobbling with every step she took; she was practically limping.

Syura began approaching her as well, barely able to contain his wicked glee. He even started cracking his knuckles in a provocative fashion, openly flaunting his sadism and looking forward to the ensuing violence he was about to dish out. "Once I'm done smacking you around, we'll go someplace a little quieter. Did you like my private island I sent you to a while back? I can send you there again. Just the two of us this time! We'll really have some fun. It's the wild stallions I love breaking in the most!"

As soon as Esdeath got within three feet of him, the dark and sinister man clinched his right fist and hurled out a haymaker with the intent of knocking her lights out. The smirk on Syura's face quickly departed however due upon noticing a strange sensation in his fist. It didn't feel as if he had just bashed it against someone's skull; it felt as if . . . he had not hit anything at all. Not only had he whiffed a perfectly good punch, but there was no sign of the Ice Queen.

On the other hand, Esdeath could be heard. Or rather, her legs could be heard limping across the ground. Syura turned his head to see that she was right behind him, limping towards Tatsumi. A curious site it was. More curious, however, was the blade on her broken rapier; there was blood dripping off the end.

It wasn't until Syura felt another strange sensation that he was able to understand what had just happened. A sudden flaring pain lit up his pelvic area, causing him to look down. There, he noticed blood spilling out from a place no man would ever hope or even imagine to see blood coming out from. He immediately dropped down to his knees before hysterically crying out in pain. "HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME?! YOU WRETCHED BITCH! YOU DISGUSTING BITCH!"

Though Esdeath was unparsed by Syura's cries and vitriol; none of his vile words reached through to her. In fact, she was behaving as if he didn't even exist. At that moment, all she was interested in was Tatsumi. Without hesitation, she tossed away her broken rapier, crouched down next to him and sat his unconscious body up enough to allow her to press one of her ears against his chest. A look of relief appeared in her eyes as she heard a slow but consistent thumping sound emanating from Tatsumi's chest. "Thank goodness. It just grazed you a little.", she said, embracing him with such affection. "I thought I had lost you."

Still on the ground crying out in pain, Syura sharply set his gaze on the woman who had given him what he perceived to have been a fate worse than death. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS YOU BITCH! YOU AND YOUR LITTLE NIGHT RAID ACCOMPLICE!"

As he screamed these words, his signature circular teleportation array appeared directly beneath Esdeath and Tatsumi. "I WON'T BE SO GENEROUS THIS TIME! LET'S SEE HOW WELL THE TWO OF YOU DO IN A VOLCANO!"

Finally hearing something she couldn't simply ignore, the Ice Queen looked around the immediate area in an effort to find a way out of her current predicament. But there wasn't one. She couldn't imagine herself mustering up the strength to get up again. She had already placed far too much strain on her body, especially with the little stunt she had just pulled with Syura.

Alas, there was clearly no way out of Syura's death trap. Realizing this, she did the only thing she could think of. Still holding Tatsumi in her embrace, she leaned her head down against his. Then, with a tender smile on her lips, a thick block of her normal ice formed around them.

At this very moment, Najenda, Leone and Lubbock bursted through one of the courtyard doors. They all saw their comrade frozen in Esdeath's clutches and ran towards him. But before they were even able to get remotely close enough to make a difference, Tatsumi and the Ice Queen vanished without a trace.

"Where did you send them?!", Lubbock growled, his eyes narrowed on the Prime Minister's defeated son.

To which Syura did not answer, instead more concerned about his own survival. His signature teleportation circle immediately appeared under his body as well.

Leone swiftly ran towards him with the intent to pounce upon him before he could escape. "Oh no you don't!" Feeling the pain from her earlier injury resurging, however, the feral assassin fell to the ground before she could get close enough to apprehend him. And just like that, Syura vanished.

Emperor Makoto arrived on the scene shortly thereafter, accompanied by a myriad of guards. He looked left and right, wondering what had become of the Prime Minister's son. Figuring that his new chief advisor, Najenda, would know the answer, he calmly approached her. "Where did he go?"

Najenda briefly looked around the courtyard, hoping to see some something . . . or perhaps anything she could use to base a deduction on. In doing this, she noticed the numerous signs of an epic battle that had taken place between two juggernauts. Numerous signs of a battle, but no indication of what happened after said battle. It was then that she let out an annoyed sigh. "With all due respect, your majesty, I haven't the slightest idea."

* * *

 **A/N:** Whoa whoa whoa, that chapter ended up being a LOT longer than I ever intended it to be. My second longest chapter here to date. But, we covered everything we needed to cover. Just a few points to note:

 **#1.** Every subplot will be addressed in due. Believe me, am a huge fan of chekov's gun! I do everything for a reason and that will be abundantly clear!

 **#2.** Esdeath is an estoc spammer!

 **#3.** I love Dark Souls! And to anyone who doesn't know what a medieval heat shield is, feel free to google it. It's pretty much the shield Link uses in the Legend of Zelda series.

 **#4.** Chelsea saved the day!

 **#5.** Can't think of anything at length to say here that hasn't been explained in the chapter. Also don't wanna spoil the finale! Feel free to ask questions in the review section though. Will do my best to answer!

Love it? Hate it? A WRETCHED PIECE OF FICTION YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER LAID EYES UPON? Meh? Feel free to leave a review! Feedback is always appreciated! As are follows and favorites! Thanks again and look forward to the final chapter!


	18. Kill the Epilogue

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!

* * *

 **A/N:** Aaaaannnd we've once once again made our way to another new chapter! Not just ANY chapter, but THE final chapter. Brace yourselves as this is the END of the fic. Here we go!

Before we get started, just a few points to note:

 **#1.** You have my sincerest apologies for the one month delay. I know I said I would have the final chapter out by December, but I had a jury trial set for the beginning of the January and thus had very little time to do anything besides prepare for that. As soon as I was done with that business (btw, if you live in America, just know that our criminal justice is corrupt as hell and that there are cops out there who are corrupt enough to **hide** surveillance camera footage if doing so is sure to get you convicted), I went straight back to finishing up this fic. I had meant to commission some custom art for the final chapter, but I didn't get the chance on such short notice. Maybe next time.

 **#2.** As always, MASSIVE shoutout to the reviewers! I appreciate all the feedback, both positive and constructive. I'd particularly like to make note of **grither55's** recent constructive review expressing disappointment with my decision to use elements of one of the battles in Rurouni Kenshin (which I made note of when I had published the chapter). Particularly, the means by which I had Esdeath develop as a character. Although I see where he is coming from, I'd have to respectfully disagree. Paying homage and using borrowing elements from another series' is pretty common in fiction. Great characters like Lelouch Lamperouge from _Code Geass_ (see Reinhard von Lohengramm from _Legend of Galactic Heroes_ and Char Aznable from _Gundam_ ) and Luffy from _One Piece_ (see Goku from _Dragon Ball [Z/Super]_ ) are the result of borrowing elements from prior series. But I digress. Some of us will end up having to agree to disagree here! ;-)

 **#3.** I make a plethora of deviations from the canon storyline here and you'll see that in this chapter. None of it violates the rules I established in chapter 1 (everything prior to the key pivotal moment in episode 14 is still 100% canon as far as this fic is concerned), but anyway who has read the manga (both AKG and AKG Zero) is going to notice some big changes. Changes I believe work a lot better for this fic, but you're welcome to decide for yourself!

 **#4.** I finally got a chance to read the ending to the AKG manga and I'm a little confused. It says Tatsumi and Mine had CHILDREN (plural). This makes no sense to me since it says Mine was pregnant with Tatsumi's CHILD when she first finds out about him being a dragon. So if I'm reading between the lines correctly, Mine got it on with Tatsumi in his dragon form. :(

Beyond that, I don't really have much to say that I haven't already said before. There are a lot of great ideas in this series (many which I didn't get to address in this rewrite) that were never used to their full potential. I think that had the author sat back and taken a couple of months to draft out a summary of the entire series PRIOR to writing it, it could've been a whole lot better. There were so many things that felt like they were just made up on the spot. On the other hand, I'll be the first to admit that I could never draw and write one chapter per month for 78 months straight. Absolutely never. Especially on a mangaka's salary. So kudos to the author for his years of hard work.

Anyways, without further ado, onto the finale!

* * *

 ** _Episode 31: Kill the Epilogue_**

It had been a total of one month since the appointment of the Grand Empire's new Prime Minister, Najenda. Naturally, people all throughout the Capital were skeptical that a general who had been branded as a traitor and known to publicly be the leader of Night Raid would be selected for anything besides a public execution. But as a mere 30 days alone was already demonstrating, the Capital was changing. Not just the Capital, but even the country. Oppressive taxes were being lifted, harsh laws were being repealed and. corrupt state officials were being replaced. Such was change of the like that no one had ever imagined after so many years of the former Prime Minister's influence.

It was late in the afternoon and Emperor Makoto was sitting on his throne handling what appeared to be the last of his daily affairs. And next to the young emperor stood his new and loyal prime minister. She was sporting a gray commander coat just like the one she wore when she was a general. And unlike Honest, she appeared to treat her job a lot more professionally, evidenced by the lack of snacks in her possession as official business was being conducted. What's more, her presence alone appeared to evoke a constant atmosphere of seriousness.

A public official was standing before the emperor, reading off the remainder of the items on the daily agenda. "Lastly, your majesty, the Durellione family is in violation of another zoning violation. This time 45-2893. However, they've paid their monthly tribute, thus I would assume you would like to-"

"Just a moment", Najenda demanded. "Before you say another word, I believe his majesty should receive a little background on this matter. First, tell the emperor what zoning violations the Durellione's are currently violating and how they are violating them. Second, inform the emperor about these so-called tributes they've been paying."

"At once, Prime Minister", the official responded with a reverent nod of his head. "Since February, the Durellione family has intentionally been diverting the groundwater from public farmlands to its own property for what appears to be luxury purposes."

"Aren't those farmlands designated to the peasants?", the emperor asked with the raise of an eyebrow.

"Yes, your majesty. However, the Durellione family has been making use of them. The former Prime Minister said not to pay their zoning violations any heed provided they paid a monthly tribute to the royal treasury. The Durellione's sent their latest tribute yesterday, thus I would assume you-"

"Absolutely not!", he asserted in response. "Inform the Durelliones that their disregard for our laws will no longer be tolerated. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes, your majesty! I will go draft up the order at once!"

With that, the official departed from the throne room, signifying the end of the day's affairs. Sensing that his work for the day was finished, the emperor stood up from his throne and averted his gaze to his chief advisor, his eyes visibly fishing for feedback. "Well . . . how was that?"

"Not bad, Makoto", Najenda replied, smirking with approval. "With this, the rest of the noble families should get the message that you're no longer going to put up with their antics."

"Not just that, but this goes a long way towards our long term goal."

"You mean doing away with the nobility entirely?"

He nodded his head fervently. "Honest may have been the source of most of the corruption here, but the nobles are still part of the problem. Take that Aria girl you told me about for example. Her and her family had been getting away with torturing and killing peasants from outside the Capital. They used their wealth and social status to do as they pleased. There will be no more of that."

"I'm impressed, Makoto. I never expected you to mature this quickly. It would seem Honest was holding you back. You certainly have a knack for leadership."

Unused to receiving such sincere compliments, the emperor's cheeks blushed and he bashfully began scratching the back of his head. "You . . . really think so?"

She turned away and began walking towards one of the room's exit. "Yes, but don't let it go to your head. You still have lots more to learn and much to improve upon."

"Y-yes ma'am!", he replied much like an obedient child addressing his mother, quickly walking alongside his new prime minister in lockstep.

"Speaking of which, there's some more literature I'd like for you to read. You'll find all nine books on your desk in your chambers. Have them all read by Monday."

"Only nine books this time?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. I find much of the literature in the royal library rather lacking for educational purposes, so there's not much else I intend to have you read out of there. But don't worry. I've already arranged for a full shipment of educational literature to be delivered. Once we have that, we can really get to work. For the time being, however, let's mix things up. At its current level, your deductive reasoning skills leave much to be desired. Care for a game of chess?"

"I would love to, but . . . I don't know how to play."

"Not to worry. I'll teach you."

* * *

 **[** ** _. . . It all starts with a book. . ._** **]**

* * *

Roughly at about the same time, Lubbock was sitting behind the cash register at his bookstore. Surprisingly, however, he wasn't slacking off or lazily pouring his eyes through the pages of some magazine; he was diligently hard at work and had a store full of customers to show for it. In fact, he was even dealing with a long line of patrons at the moment.

"Shounen Hop, eh?" he said, pushing some buttons on the cash register while glancing upon the magazine the customer at the front of the line wanted to purchase. "That'll be 3 gold pieces Make sure to check out the latest chapter of Two Piece. It's getting really interesting."

The customer happily handed over three pieces of gold before walking away. And as he walked away, another customer took his place at the front of the line before putting his book on the checkout counter.

"Ah, The Pitcher 3: Wild Hit. A very solid choice", Lubbock noted, his eyes glancing upon the book alone and not the actual person in line. "That'll be 7 gold pieces."

"I don't suppose I could talk you into putting it on my tab", the customer responded.

"Sorry buddy. Store policy. No discounts and . . .", Lubbock replied, pausing upon seeing the person who was standing in line. ". . . no tabs. What are YOU doing here?"

It was his Jaegar rival, Run, standing before him. And he appeared to be in eager spirits. "It's been a while, Lubbock. Haven't heard from you since our little game in the palace. I was hoping we could chat."

"Maybe some other time. If you haven't noticed, business is booming."

"It's a matter of the utmost importance regarding Prime Minister Najenda."

Lubbock's eyes tensed and his arms stiffened as he heard that last word. "Alright. Let's talk."

"And your customers?"

To which Lubbock responded, turning his attention towards every single patron in the store, both in line and browsing. "Attention everyone not named Run, we're having a special sale that only lasts 10 seconds so listen up! I'm closing the shop in 10 seconds so anyone who gets out within 10 seconds can keep whatever item they currently have in their hands free of charge!"

Like a group of cockroaches fleeing upon someone turning the lights, every single patron ran outside with absolutely no delay.

"A bit unnecessary, don't think?", Run noted, scratching his chin. That's easily 200 gold pieces worth of merchandise."

"338 pieces", Lubbock replied while flipping the 'We're Open' sign to 'We're Closed.' And I'm putting it all on your tab."

To which Run smirked, "I thought you didn't do tabs."

"I do now. Now get to your point. What's wrong with Miss Najenda?"

"It's not Prime Minister Najenda specifically, but rather her father."

"What's happened to him? Has his condition gotten worse?"

"No, but it hasn't exactly improved either in spite of a full month of the best imperial medical treatment the Grand Empire has to offer."

"Sounds like your old boss really did a number on him."

"The commander's skill with torture was unparalleled. Given enough time, there was no one she couldn't break. With the Prime Minister's father, she used a form of psychological torture that has left him broken beyond repair."

"What does any of that have to do with you? Miss Najenda could have told me that herself . . . when she had the time anyway. Don't tell me they've demoted you to being a mere messenger boy."

"Quite the contrary. I've been promoted to his majesty's new intelligence gathering division: Night Watch."

"Sounds catchy."

"Prime Minister Najenda's idea. For our first assignment, his majesty would like for me to inquire into a means of curing his new Prime Minister's father's ailment."

"If you were hoping to get some information out of me regarding a cure, you're out of luck. None of the literature here is medicinal."

"No, as far as my investigation is concerned, I'm more interested in what you know than what I can find in your catalogue. Specifically, I'm here to inquire into the whereabouts of three people."

Lubbock rubbed his chin, inquisitively wondering who the former Jaegar could have in mind. "Okay, who?"

"Let's start with Wave. My sources indicate that he was last seen entering your shop prior to leaving the capital."

"I had no idea he left the capital. What does he have to do with finding a cure for Miss Najenda's old man? And if anyone would know anything about where he was at, it'd be his teammate."

"The last time I saw Wave was the day after you all raided the imperial palace. He said he was going to find a way to cure Kurome of her own psychological ailment and he had no idea when he'd be returning to the capital. He also told me to make sure that the remainder of his military stipend was advanced to Bols' widow. I suspect he may have inadvertently stumbled upon a potential lead."

"He did come into my shop, but he wasn't here long. I guess he was under the impression that I might have had a book that could help him."

"Did you?"

"Like I already said: None of my books are medicinal. And from the sounds of it, whatever is wrong with Kurome, I doubt finding the cure will be as simple as going to your local bookstore."

"Did he say anything? Every piece of information helps."

Lubbock continued rubbing his chin, patiently trying to recall every detail of Wave's visit. "Hmm . . . well now that you mention it, he didn't say much, but he did purchase something. Not that I see how it would help him or you in your search, but he did buy a copy of 'A Tour of the Four Kingdoms'."

"'A Tour of the Four Kingdoms'? Never heard of it. What is it about?"

"It's basically an encyclopedia version of a tourist magazine for anyone who wants to visit the Grand Empire, Ali Jinnah, Reispan or Bestimmung. Landmarks, sight seeing, shopping areas, cuisine, that sort of thing. Again, I don't see how it would be of any help."

"Perhaps, but it's a start. May I have a copy?"

"Not without paying that tab first, buddy boy!"

To which Run sighed. "You're . . . 'involved' with the Prime Minister. I'm sure you could just ask her for-"

"Oh no!", Lubbock retorted, dismissively and fretfully waiving his hand. "Being 'involved' with her does not mean what you think it means. And that's really all I'm gonna say on that subject. Why do you think I'm still running this bookstore and not living the life of luxury in the palace?"

"And here I thought you simply shared my taste for good literature."

"I delve here and there. But enough about that. Who are the other two people you'd like to know about?"

"Your fellow assassin, Tatsumi: Where is he?"

"Hell if I know. I don't even know if he's still alive. You heard what Syura did to him and your old boss."

"He teleported them to another location. Problem is that we don't know where. I'd like to find him. There's a very good chance he'd be able to tell me where the commander is located. It's even more likely that they are working in tandem and that finding Tatsumi would lead me right to her."

"Don't be ridiculous. I mean sure, she's obsessed with him, but still: You saw the state they left the courtyard in. They had been fighting tooth and nail. There's no way Tatsumi would ever be dumb enough to-"

To which Run interrupted, the smirk on his lips returning, "Lets just say I have a certain hypothesis I've been kicking around for a few days now. Regardless, if you do hear from him, inform me immediately. It's only a hunch, but if we can find the commander, she might be of use in healing Prime Minister Najenda's father."

"That's a joke right?!", Lubbock replied, barely able to contain his laughter. "You want to find Esdeath and bring her back to the capital so she can help us?! We are talking about Esdeath, right?! Not someone from some made up fanfiction?!"

"Very funny. Now there's just one last person I'm looking for. I understand you associate with this person on a regular basis, so I'm sure you can tell me where she is at."

* * *

 **[** ** _. . . Fear and revere him: The world's greatest assassin . . ._** **]**

* * *

Elsewhere, within the city of Ayatollah, the very city in Ali Jinnah where Lubbock and Akame had assassinated a diplomat nearly two months earlier, a peculiar scene was playing out as two men entered a rather lively tavern; lively in the sense that the tavern had its own stage band and dancing girls for entertainment. The taverns patrons, almost exclusively men, were having a merry good time drinking and gambling.

Everything came to a sudden halt, however, the moment these two people walked inside. Everyone within the tavern gazed upon these two men, as if they were completely out of place. One of the men had a beard with pointy brown hair and was dressed in red and white robes and a large white hat with the Path of Peace insignia adorned on it. The other one was a lean, muscular swordsman with a black hair styled triangular bob-like cut and small light-colored eyes; he wore a black outfit, which revealed his chest and light-colored pants with a sash; he also appeared to have a long tongue, noticeable in that he was sticking it out without rhyme or determinable reason.

A series of whispers flushed throughout the tavern as these two men waltzed in and had a seat at a table. "What is HE doing here?", voiced one whisper. "What the heck is someone from the Path of Peace doing HERE? Does he want to die?", voice another whisper. "I recognize the other one from the wanted posters. That's Dread Pirate Enshin!" voiced another whisper. "I once heard he killed someone just for sneezing!", quietly muttered someone else.

The swordsman briefly looked around the room, scowling as he noticed all the whispering. "What the fuck kind of piss-ass shit-hole tavern is this? I came here to have a good time. Don't you know it's RUDE to gossip? This is a tavern, goddamnit, so fucking act like it before I get up and entertain myself the old fashioned way!"

As if having been given the cue to continue what they were doing, everyone in the tavern did just that; they all acted as if nothing had ever happened.

"It looks like your reputation precedes you, Mr. Enshin", said the man in red and white robes. "The way the savages in this country treat Path of Peace clergyman like myself, I thought for certain you'd have to make an example of a few of them."

"You just worry about getting the 100,000 gold pieces you owe and leave the blood and mayhem to me, father Bolic", the swordsman replied, practically salivating as he uttered the words 'blood' and 'mayhem'.

"All in good time, Mr. Enshin. Once you've gotten me out of this filthy country unharmed, the gold is as good as yours."

"I can't believe you're still running scared from the Grand Empire. Your bounty is 2 years old. Word is that they have a new Prime Minister now and that they locked away the old one and threw away the key."

"I'd rather not take any chances. There's a Path of Peace congregation right off the coast. I'll go there, lay low for a little while; see if the rumors are true and if anyone is still after my head. Once I'm sure no one is still interested in my whereabouts, I can start fresh and maybe use the Lord's sudden absence to my advantage. With a few well-placed bribes here and there, they'll make me the new leader of the Path of Peace. And when that happens, if you play your cards right, I might have use for a full-time bodyguard."

"I dunno, father Bolic. Bodyguard duty alone can get pretty dull, even if the pay is good. Not much sex and blood when you're stuck working for religious nutjobs."

"Stick with me, Mr. Enshin. You'd be amazed at how many gullible idiots seeking enlightenment are succulent nubile virgins ripe for the picking. And if it's blood you're looking for, you can be in charge of making inconvenient infidels disappear."

"Tempting. I've got another job out in Reispan to get to once you're squared away. Something about a 'wild hunt.' Once that business is taken care of, I'll get back to you and we can negotiate the terms of a more permanent contract."

"I look forward to it", Bolic replied while gesturing for a waitress.

A young short and petite tanned skinned pigtailed blonde girl walked up their table; she was sporting long leggings and a shirt, which she left open, displaying a bikini/swimsuit top. Taken in by what she was wearing, both Bolic and Enshin's eyes wandered up and down her figure in an overtly lecherous fashion. And yet despite their overt perversions, the girl appeared to maintain an easygoing demeanor. "Hello!", she jovially exclaimed.

"Why hello, young lady", Bolic said before grabbing one of the girl's hands and kissing it. "Pray tell, what is your name?"

To which the girl giggled, "The name's Mez."

"Mez huh", Enshin said, before libidinously sliding one of his hands up her legs. "Let 'mez' take you upstairs so 'wez' can have some fun, heheheh. Whadda'ya say?"

To which the girl replied, "I'd love to have some fun, but first I have a question for the priest here."

Still holding her hand, Bolic planted another kiss on it, "The answer is yes."

"Oh? So then you ARE Bishop Bolic of the Path of Peace?", she asked, her eyes full of eagerness.

Overcome with caution and concern, the bishop immediately released the girl's hand. "Wh-who told you that?"

Mez couldn't help but let out an innocent chuckle."You just did, silly! I've gotta say though. It's kind of stupid to go around dressed in your bishop clothes when you've got a dead or alive bounty on your head. Kind of a dead giveaway."

Unwilling to allow even another moment to pass, Enshin instantly unsheathed the sword that had been resting at his hip; he suddenly brandished a curved blade unlike any other and swung it with the intent of decapitating this mysterious girl. But not only did Mez avoid the swing, she avoided it in an unnatural fashion; to Enshin's shock and confusion, she had quite literally bent over backwards with one swift movement and without bending her legs.

She readily stood back upright. "Dread Pirate Enshin. We didn't come here to collect your bounty, but since you're here, we may as well."

"Collect my bounty?", Enshin noted rhetorically. "One lucky dodge and the slut thinks she's somebody." He fired out a series of additional slashes, but none of them came close to tagging any flesh and Mez continued to dodge his swings by maneuvering her body into unnatural, if not outright impossible, positions.

"Are you really Dread Pirate Enshin?", Mez asked before letting out a bored sigh. "There's no way a pirate with a 40,000 gold piece bounty can be this weak."

"I'll show you weak!", the swordsman snarled; his curve sword emitted a light glow all of the sudden. "Aerial blade!"

A visible piercing energy wave roughly 10 feet wide came flying out of the dread pirate's sword. Being so close to him already, Mez was able to evade to wave's radius without incident, but the people at the tables behind her were not so lucky. Within a flash, multiple people were bisected and even more were seriously injured. Amongst the remaining patrons in the tavern, seeing this was the straw that broke the camel's back. Total pandemonium followed suit as they all started making a run for the exit.

Not wishing to get caught in the crossfire, Bolic himself got up and joined everyone else in making a frantic run for the exit. But just as he got outside, he immediately bumped into another young woman. This one was wearing clothes similar to those of a shrine maiden; she had on a loose kimono shirt exposing her cleavage held by a single breast guard on her right breast; her hair was jet black and she also had a horizontal scar on her face.

"You have a 100,000 gold piece bounty on your head and you only bother to hire one bodyguard? Ugh. This job is turning into a huge letdown."

Bolic paced himself back a few stops, fretfully gesturing for this young woman to stay away, "N-now wait just a minute! This doesn't have to end in violence. My bodyguard in there is a dangerous man. If you lay a finger on me, y-you'll regret it!"

"Like this?", she said before laying an index finger on the bishop's panic ridden forehead. "So when does the regret part begin? I'm not feeling any."

"J-just you wait. He'll come marching right out here. Y-you'll see!"

"Yeah . . . if he can't even handle Mez, he'll never make it out here alive."

"Y-you're after my bounty, r-r-r-right? W-well then maybe we can negotiate something. H-how's about I pay you double what I'm worth? Get me out of this country and to my congregation off the coast and I'll pay you 100,000 gold pieces!"

"Sorry", the woman said as the fingernails on her left hand suddenly grew out by three inches and became razor sharp. "Master Gozuki's number 1 rule: Never negotiate with the target."

"G-g-g-gozuki?! Then that means you're . . ."

With but one quick swipe from the girl's left hand, Bolic's throat was slit wide open and the bishop met his untimely demise. "The Four Rakshasa Demons. Well, three of us anyway."

Back inside the tavern, Mez was still evading Enshin's attacks. His aeriel blades were bisecting ample pieces of furniture, but his speed and accuracy came nowhere close enough to what was needed to even graze her.

All the while, Mez was ogling the dread pirate's weapon with the utmost curiosity. "Wow! Is that an imperial arm you've got there? I've never see one up close."

"Hmph. You like my sword, do you?", Enshin asked, appearing as if he were about to use another technique. "Well then take a good look at this! Double-Pronged Att-"

Though to the dread pirate's misfortune, those were the last words he had ever uttered. In the blink of an eye, the upper half of his head was messily blown off and his blood had splattered the immediate area. Mez sighed in open frustration. "Awe c'mon. He was about to show me another one of his attacks. It was bound to look cool."

"Toy with your prey on your own time", said a male voice nearby. "Only a moron stands around and shouts the name of his attack before using it. And only an even bigger moron stands around waiting to see what the attack does."

At that very moment, the young woman that had killed Bolic came walking inside with a trophy of sorts in her hands; she was holding the late bishop's severed head, no doubt to show as proof of his death upon collecting his bounty. "Should've let me fight Enshin and let Mez take care of this loser."

"Bullcrap, Suzuka!", Mez retorted. "You would've sat there and let him cut you just so you could get off!"

"You heard master Gozuki. The guy was a complete moron! I have standards unlike some people!"

"Both of you: Shut the hell up! I'm trying to read!"

Like two obedient children, both women immediately ceased their bickering before simultaneously turning their attention to the only other person in the room. "Sorry Master Gozuki", they both said in reverent unison.

At the other end of the tavern sat a middle-aged looking man with blond hair, a small beard and green eyes; he was sporting a black wild western coat, black wild western boots and a red scarf. His was leaning back in his chair with his feet kicked up on the table. He had a shotgun in his right hand and smoke was still leaving the barrel; he presumable hadn't moved a muscle since blowing a chunk of Enshin's head off. More curious, however, was that it was as if his attention were entirely focused on what was in his left hand: A folded newspaper. "Girls, it seems a lot has happened since our last trip to the Grand Empire."

To which Mez inquired, "Wasn't there some kind of rebel uprising or something going on over there?"

"Still can't believe Sten tried to talk us into getting into the middle of that", Suzuka added.

Gozuki promptly ceased reading the paper, opting instead to toss it over in Mez's direction. "The revolutionary army was obliterated, but they have a new Prime Minister nonetheless. From the sound of the policies they've been implementing for the past 30 days alone, it's as if the rebellion had been successful."

"Suzuka, you're not gonna believe this!", said Mez, her eyes glaring intently at the very page her master had been scrutinizing moments earlier. "Check out the latest person to be added to the bounty section!"

The other girl leaned next to her companion to get a good look at what she was referring to, only to be visibly astonished. There, she saw the picture of a woman donned in high ranking military apparel with long blue hair. "Well I'll be. Someone is actually stupid enough to put a bounty on General Esdeath's head."

"There have been a few others over the years. Families of her many victims, bitter commanders of armies she's crushed, that sort of thing", Gozuki noted. "Didn't matter who it was; they always ended learning the hard way why putting a hit on someone like her is no different than smacking a beehive."

"It's real shame", Mez added. "3 billion gold pieces dead, 5 billion alive. The things we could do with that kind of money."

To which Gozuki smirked haughtily, "My dear Mez. What you mean to say is 'the things we WILL do with that money."

"What?!", Suzuka shrieked. "Forgive me Master Gozuki, but THAT's General Esdeath we're talking about. You know her reputation. And what about your rule against getting in the middle of another country's politics? I thought we didn't do political jobs. She's a general of the Grand Empire, so-"

"Read the entire article, Suzuka. She WAS a general; not anymore. The Grand Empire itself is the one to have placed the bounty on her head, so now she's just a criminal on the run. As to her reputation . . . heh . . . I kind of have a reputation myself, so we'll just have to see if she lives up to hers, won't we?"

* * *

[ **_. . . The unlikely duo . . ._** ]

* * *

At that very hour, Night Raid's feral assassin was at her favorite bar; she was sitting at a barstool, leaning forward against the bar table with her left elbow and was smackdab in the middle of her favorite pastime. "Barkeep! There's something wrong with my glass!", she said, her face flushing, her cheeks reddening from the steady stream of alcohol entering her system.

The barkeeper, a bald and muscular middle aged gentleman, appeared to be getting dangerously close to stretching the limits of his patience. "There's nothing wrong with your glass", he responded with growing hints of irritation.

Leone, however, was too oblivious and inebriated to take a hint. She picked up her glass, noticeably empty, and flipped it upside down, acting as if she were trying to shake the remaining ketchup out of a ketchup bottle. "But there is something wrong! My Teigu special! It's gone! Bandits! Marauders! They must've taken it while I wasn't looking!"

"Bandits huh?", said the barkeeper as he rolled his eyes. "These wouldn't by chance be the same bandits that stole every other glass I've poured you?"

"No, they're all different! Bandits come in all shapes and sizes! They could be hiding anywhere . . . or maybe everywhere! You just don't know it yet!"

"Mmhmm."

"Say, I've got a great idea! I know how to stop the bandits!"

"You do?", the barkeeper asked rhetorically, his words practically drenched in sarcasm.

"How about this? If you pour me another glass, I'll keep a look out for the bandits. And when they return . . . BAM . . . BOOM . . . POW . . . they'll never know what hit 'em. Whadd'ya say?"

"I say you've had enough and that you'd better pay the balance of your tab right this instant before I call the guards."

"Hey now! That's no way to talk to the Prime Minister's bestest bestest bestest buddy in the whole wide world! We're like . . . pals, yah know!"

"I'm sure you are. Now pay up!"

"Okay okay", she said, finally yielding to the seriousness of the barkeeper's demeanor. "Lemme just make a withdrawal out of the First Bank of Leone." She reached into her pockets, only to just then notice that they were empty. As she noticed this, she innocently looked back up to the barkeeper and shrugged her shoulders.

At this point, the barkeeper's patience was worn out; he had folded his arms and was impatiently tapping his index finger on his elbow. "Let me guess. The bandits took all of your gold pieces too."

Leone began rubbing the back of her head, giggling at the situation she had landed herself in. "Had you just poured me another glass, I could've spotted them before they made off with the money. Hey, wait a minute . . . they . . . made off . . . made out . . . they made out like bandits! Hahaha, get it?"

"That's it. I'm calling the guards."

"That won't be necessary", said the voice of an approaching young man entering the bar.

The barkeeper turned to his head to see who it was that was willing to interject on behalf of the drunken and impetuous louse before him. One look, however, changed his demeanor entirely. "Ah, Jaegar Lieutenant Run, I didn't know you were stopping by today. Here, let me fix you a drink. On the house!"

"Perhaps another time", Run said with the utmost politeness. "Right now, I have some business to tend to with this woman here."

"Yes, I was just about to call the guards on her thieving arse. She's built up quite a sizable tab and has not a single gold piece to her name."

"As I said, that won't be necessary. His majesty will reimburse you for the bill."

"See?", Leone chimed. "I told you I was bestest buddies with the Prime Minister. Now how about another glass of your Teigu special?"

Not wasting another moment, Run grabbed the feral assassin by the arm and began making his way towards the exit. "As I said, perhaps another time!"

Leone protested: "H-hey, just one more glass!", but Run would hear none of it, essentially dragging her out the bar. Though there was no doubt that she could have easily broken free by summoning the powers of her imperial arm, the thought never even entered her mind; perhaps she knew she was in no immediate danger or perhaps this was the effect of the alcohol.

Run released her from his grip as soon as they got outside. "How strange. We've been trying to kill one another for months now . . . indirectly anyway. And yet this is the first time we've formally met. My name is Run."

"Oh hey, I know you. You're that Jaegar who got his ass handed to him by Lubbock!"

"I got my what handed to me by who?"

"Must've been pretty embarrassing to have to get on your knees and beg Lubbock to spare you. Not the way I would have done things, but at least you're alive, right?" Despite the provocative nature of her words, the feral assassin spoke as if what she was saying was the undisputed truth.

"Heh. Seems Lubbock is spending far too much time delving into fiction. The way I remember it, that fight was a draw."

"Hmm. Now that I think about it . . .", she expressed, intriguingly rubbing her chin. "The part about him princess-carrying the boss-lady away from danger doesn't sound all that credible."

"Regardless . . .", said Run as he politely extended his hand out. "Leone . . . is it?"

"Nice to meet yah!" She immediately grabbed his hand and reciprocated the greeting, albeit in a manner completely devoid of manners; she rapidly shook it up and down. "Say, now that the emperor is footing the bill, why don't we go to a different bar and get acquainted with each other the way two up and coming buddies are supposed to get acquainted?"

"Footing the bill? I think you're a little confused. You'll be the one footing the bill."

"What? First Wave and now you. It's as if none of you Jaegars have a clue when it comes to knowing how to treat a lady."

"You'll be footing the bill on all of the unpaid bar tabs you've accumulated within the last thirty days. You'll also be footing the bill on the property damage you've caused to nearly every tavern in the city."

"Okay, the second one isn't even fair. They know I have no control over myself when I'm extra hammered but kept refilling my glass anyway!"

"Voluntary intoxication is not a defense. And based on the reports, in each of these incidences, the barkeepers acted under duress."

"Oh c'mon, who are you gonna believe? Some random barkeepers or the Prime Minister's best bosom buddy in the whole world?"

"Frankly, the Prime Minister has grown tired of you using her name to do whatever you please. And so she has ordered that you either pay off the tabs and the damages you owe or spend two years behind bars."

"Two years behind bars? Geez, talk about ruling with an iron fist. Look, as much as I'd love to pay, the First Bank of Leone has been licked clean", she said, revealing her empty pockets. "Can't I just give you an IOU or something?"

"Not to worry. The Prime Minister anticipated that you would have wasted all of your money and so she's giving you a third option."

To which Leone sighed. "At this point, anything beats going to jail."

"I've been put in charge of his majesty's new intelligence gathering taskforce: Night Watch. The Prime Minister has given me the discretion to conscript you into joining it. Once you've done enough satisfactory work, you can go back to your civilian life."

"So it's basically Night Raid all over again, except you're the boss?"

"In a way, yes. But don't get the wrong idea; Night Watch's primary purpose is not to conduct assassinations, but to gather information. Even so, your prior background and the skills you've accumulated during your time with Night Raid are noted; I'm sure you'll be an exceptional asset."

To which the feral assassin playfully batted an eyelash, "Heheheh. Coming on a little strong there, boss. You sure you don't wanna go get a drink?"

"I wouldn't recommend it. At the rate of your excessive drinking habits, you'll just end up indebting yourself to Night Watch for a lifetime. Honestly, I'm surprised you still even have a functioning liver."

Leone chuckled boastfully, "One of the many perks to have a healing factor!"

"That explains a lot."

"So where's the rest of the team?"

"Aside from some administrative staff members, it's just you and me for now. I had planned to get Wave, but he's M.I.A at the moment. So is Kurome."

"What about Akame? This kind of work is right up her ally."

To which Run shook his head. "She's M.I.A as well. No one has heard from her since the day your old team infiltrated the palace."

"Knowing her, she probably has her reasons", Leone replied before the last obvious potential candidate occurred to her. And as it did, a deeply amused grin appeared on her lips. "And I take it Lubbock is automatically off limits. Can't have the Prime Minister's main squeeze putting himself in danger, am I right?"

"Lubbock outright refused me. He says he was content with running his bookstore, but I suspect it has more to do with me being the one in charge of this taskforce."

"Guess that just leaves you and me!", Leone exclaimed, her eagerness made clear as she punched her right fist into her left palm. "So boss, what's the first order of business?"

And with a knowing smirk on his lips, Run asked the following insipidly vague and ambiguous question: "When was the last time you went on vacation?"

* * *

[ **_. . . The Wild Hunt . . ._** ]

* * *

On the western coast of Reispan's borders, there was a city by the name of Dondempezó. A large and prosperous city, if the dense population, street traffic and ample markets were of any indication. Just like Sin Esperanza, however, the city still appeared to be governed very much like a police state. Armed soldiers marching up and down the streets, standing at every corner and proprietorship and keeping a very close eye on the people who entered and exited the city via the city gates or the port.

And at the very center of the city was a place where everyone, civilian or otherwise, could go to forgo all of their troubles: A coliseum. A coliseum unlike any other in that in regularly showcased a wide range of carnage; man vs man, man vs danger beast, danger beast vs danger beast and basically any kind of chaos one could imagine on the battlefield. No one appeared to understand why, but just watching the gratuitous violence somehow made the serious issues of the day less important.

On that very day, as a battle in the coliseum was taking place, a lone hooded man was standing inside one of the coliseum's fancy luxury boxes. There, he watched onward from behind a wall sized glass panel; he was in the middle of watching a giant scorpion like danger beast face off against a group of Reispanian prisoners. Not so much a 'face off' as it was a slaughter; the prisoners never stood a chance.

Several knocks could be heard on the door to the hooded man's room. Hearing this, he said "Cosmina, it looks like my other guests have finally arrived. Be a dear and show them in."

He was referring to the other person in the room; a young pink haired woman with a bob-styled haircut and a bunny ears accessory on her head; she was wearing a mini dress, a collar and matching wrist bands, boots and a pair of glasses; most noteworthy was how chipper she appeared to be and her upbeat personality. "Right away!", she said. As she opened the door, she gestured the people behind it to walk right in and make themselves comfortable to the room's plus-sized couch and buffet table.

There were three people to be precise. The first person was a tall man with black hair worn in a top ponytail; he was donned in clothing much like that of a samurai; he had a twig in his mouth and had a katana fastened to his belt. The second person was a heavyset black man with puffs of dark curly hair above his ears; his most notable features were his clown makeup and clothing and his small baseball hat with a smiley face on it. The third person was a short young woman with blonde hair; she was donned in an innocent turquoise dress with a white apron and a ribbon on her head.

The hooded man turned around to take a gander at his guests. With but a single glance, he recognized each of them. "Izou the Wanderer", he said, glancing at the man donned in samurai attire. "Champ the Serial Killer Entertainer", he said, glancing at the man donned in clown makeup. "Mad Hatter Dorothea", he said, glancing at the short young woman. "And Siren Cosmina", he said glancing at the young woman who had already been in the room. "Though it seems we're missing Dread Pirate Enshin. It figures. He was probably too weak for our group anyway."

"What do you mean by 'our group'?", Champ asked. "I've never seen you or anyone here in my life."

"I've been keeping tabs on each of you for months now. You each stumbled upon lost imperial arms and have developed remarkable reputations in the criminal underworld. Initially, I had intended to have each of you replace the Grand Empire's Jaegars when I had assumed my reign . . . but that's no longer an option."

"Assume your reign?", Izou asked, his eyes narrowing. "Just who the hell are you?"

To which the hooded man responded, finally removing his hood. "Just someone with a score to settle . . . Syura is the name."

"Never heard of you", Dorothea bluntly remarked.

"But I've heard of each of you . . .", Syura responded before pointing to a series of sack cloth bags stacked up upon one another on the other side of the room. " . . . which is why everything over there is yours for the taking."

Curious to see what was in these bags, Izou walked right up to them and poked his hand inside one only to be astounded at what he saw; Champ too, upon getting a glimpse. Gold pieces. Each of these bags were stuffed with gold pieces. And considering the number of bags that were present, the number of gold pieces there had to at very least amount to a small fortune.

Seeing that he had gotten these scoundrels' attention, Syura looked pleased with himself. "And that's just a taste of what's in store for each of you should you come work for me. With powers like mine, acquiring gold pieces is child's play. If it suits me, I can literally rob a bank in seconds without anyone ever knowing I was the culprit."

Dorothea, however, remained skeptical. "But there's a catch, isn't there? There's always a catch."

"Right you are, Mad Hatter", Syura replied before revealing a copy of that day's newspaper. Specifically, he turned to the bounty section and showcased its latest article; the very article that had already gotten that Rakshasa Demon's attention. "I want you to capture this person and bring her to me . . . alive."

"Well I'll be damned", Izou chimed upon getting a glance at the page that was being held up. "5 billion gold pieces dead or alive. I've been killing since I was a teenager and I've never even dreamed a bounty could go THAT high. She must have done something earth shatteringly nasty to piss the Grand Empire off that much."

"Her bounty isn't important", said Syura. "As far as I'm concerned, you can cash in on her bounty and keep the proceeds yourselves once I'm done with her. Also, there will probably be a young man with brown hair tagging alongside her. You can do whatever you like with him, but make sure you bring me his sword."

Champ had a dreamy yet perverted look in his eyes. So much to the point that he even started licking his lips. "With that kind of money, I could go to Ali Jinnah and buy up enough angels to last me a lifetime. I could see it now. Three angels a day. One for breakfast. One for lunch. One for dinner!"

"That's right!", Syura remarked before shifting his attention to Dorothea. "And you Mad Hatter. I know all about your twisted experiments. Just imagine what you could do with virtually limitless funding to back your research."

Izou walked up to the room's glass panel; the battle that was taking place in the arena had already caught his interest so much to the point that his sword hand was trembling. "See that, Kousetsu?", he muttered. "We'll be able to buy our own arena. And then . . . you'll never go hungry again."

Sensing that he had them all in the palm of his hand, there was but one remaining question for Syura to ask. "So . . . what do you all say? Are you in?"

"You already know my answer!", Cosmina said with upbeat energy.

"I'm in", said Dorothea.

"Count me in!", said Champ.

Izou nodded his head. "You have my support and especially Kousetsu's."

"Splendid!", Syura said before bellowing with devious laughter. "Then let the wild hunt commence!"

* * *

[ **_. . . All she knows . . ._** ]

* * *

Elsewhere, back in Ali Jinnah, there was a small and frugal town on its southern borders. Farigha was the town's name. A town full of rampant poverty. A town all but abandoned by the government given the few guards that were present and the overt presence of thieves, vandals and the like predating at will. A town that was by all means a hell hole. And the town where Akame and Kurome were born. Cloaked in a desert robe, it was that which drew Akame back to this town on that very day at that very hour.

For reasons only she knew, the red eyed assassin was walking through the slums and headed towards a certain destination. And she did so without discreet. And perhaps with good reason as not a single scoundrel saw fit to mess with her. Even the local pickpockets steered clear of her. They knew better; all of them knew better. Even people utterly devoid of any battlefield experience could see her monstrous killing intent as plain as day. Like animals out in the wild, they simply knew better.

As she continued walking, she finally made her way to a rundown abandoned shack sitting right next to an equally rundown back alley. A vagabond was sitting on the steps to the shack and froze pale the minute he saw Akame drawing near. Having no business with this man, she walked right past him, instead interested in the shack.

Once Akame was inside, memories began to flood her mind. Memories of a more pleasant time in her life; memories of her and her sister jumping on the couch, sharing sweets, sneaking out and falling asleep together while listening to their music box. But as these pleasant memories surfaced, bitter ones arose as well; memories of their father yelling at them, doing nothing whenever Kurome got sick, beating them in a drunken fury and that accursed day he had sold them both into slavery.

These latter memories stirred up something in Akame that she was usually able to suppress; the one emotion she thought she had long been stripped of: Rage. Pure unbridled rage. Unbound genuine hatred. She immediately began wondering around the shack with her sword unsheathed. Deep down, she knew no one was present, but she didn't care. She wanted someone to be there. A particular someone in fact; the one person who had sent both her and her sister down this road of madness all those years ago. But alas, just as her better senses had already informed her, there was no one there. Her home, her childhood home, had long been abandoned. And her bastard father was long gone. There was nothing for her in that house. There was nothing for her in that town. There was nothing.

Realizing that, she promptly walked back outside. And as she did, she once again looked upon the vagabond sitting on the porch. He hadn't yet left and likely remained due to being frozen in terror. She had but one simple question for him. "A man used to live here. A man by the name of Midorime. Do you know where he went?"

"Mi-midorime? Him? I haven't seen him in years. I swear it. Last time I heard from him, he said he was getting out of this dump town and was headed up to Dhahab."

"The capital city? I see. Without his daughters, he probably figured he could start fresh. Then that's where I'll be headed."

Sparing not another word, she walked away with her killing intent still flaring. After all, there was nothing else for her there. Nothing at all. No . . . what she sought was presumably in Ali Jinnah's capital. That's where she was headed. And there was no stopping her.

* * *

[ **_. . ._** **_The Queen's Gambit . . ._** ]

* * *

Elsewhere, high up on a balcony in the imperial palace's royal wing, Najenda and the emperor had just begun a chess match; their tenth match to be precise. The new prime minister had already explained all of the rules to the game in the first several matches and Makoto surprisingly picked up on them. The emperor was playing white and his opening move consisted of him moving his pawn at D2 to D4.

Najenda was playing black and her opening move consisted of her moving her pawn at D7 to D5. "It's your move, Makoto."

The emperor examined the board carefully; he had lost the 9 previous games decisively and wanted to avoid repeating the mistakes that led to each of those defeats. His caution soon shifted into hesitance; a full 2 minutes had passed and he had yet to make a move. "Hmm . . ."

"Problem, your majesty?"

"Well . . . it's just these pawn pieces make this game a lot more tedious than it needs to be."

"How so?"

"If not for the pawns, I'd be able to use my useful pieces a lot faster."

"That's your problem. You're so focused on your so-called useful pieces that you pay no attention to your pawns."

"But you said it yourself, Najenda. Pawns are the weakest pieces in the game; they may not move backwards and they can only advance forward by a single square unless it's their first move."

"Pawns are the weakest pieces in the game, but they are also your most important. Lose sight of that and you'll end up just like Honest."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Keep playing. It'll come to you sooner or later."

The emperor nodded his head and focused his attention back upon the game. He scratched his head for a few moments. Then without further ado, he had finally decided upon his next move; he moved his pawn at C2 to C4.

"Not bad", Najenda remarked before using her pawn at D5 to capture his pawn at C4.

"This 'deductive reasoning skill' you were talking about. Can it really be ascertained just by playing a board game?"

"Even before I was your age, my father made me play this game at least once every night with the same goal in mind. Granted, he had different plans in mind as opposed to seeing me join the military."

"Your father . . . is he going to be alright?"

"To be honest . . .", Najenda said while removing and lighting a fresh cigarette from her coat pocket "I don't know. He's already been treated by the most prominent physicians in the country, but nothing has changed."

"I'm sure Night Watch will find something", he replied, doing his best to reassure her.

"Night Watch?", Najenda said, the tone of her voice exhuming with skepticism. "What are you talking about? They've not been given any assignments yet."

Utterly embarrassed, the naïve emperor realized that the proverbial cat was out of the bag and that he had no choice but to come clean. "Yes . . . but I kind of ordered Run to find a cure for your father's illness."

To which Najenda let out a frustrated sigh." I'd rather not see imperial resources go towards resolving personal affairs, but . . . you are the emperor. As long as it's within reason, you can do as you please."

"Um . . . Najenda, now that you mention personal affairs, there's something I'd like to know. Is it okay if I ask you a question?"

"Like I said, you are the emperor. As long as it is within reason, do as you please. But for our purposes, your question better not be too personal."

"Of course", said Makoto as he graciously nodded his head. "Do you love Sir Lubbock?"

She puffed her cigarette before blowing a plume of smoke to the side. "Hmph. That IS a personal question. Why do you ask?"

"It's just that even though I said it was okay for him to come live here in the palace, you refused and insisted that he continue living his life as a civilian."

"The reason I've insisted that he remain outside of the palace walls is because I do indeed love him."

"I don't understand."

"A man must be self sufficient. If he cannot provide for himself, he most certainly cannot provide for the woman he loves, much less any children he might have. As long as I'm the Prime Minister, not a single gold piece from the royal treasury shall ever be spent in pursuit of my involvement with that man."

As Makoto listened to his prime minister's explanation, he was reminded of the previous occasion when his former general, Esdeath, had expressed an interest in falling in love; he recalled how she had provided a list of overly specific conditions and requirements to be met. "Love sure is complicated."

"It is. So do me a favor and don't ask me about it again until you're older. Right now, there are far too many pressing issues for you to worry about. My predecessor's antics alone have just about crippled us from the standpoint of foreign policy."

"But isn't that why you ordered that bounty to be placed on General Esdeath's head?"

"Esdeath is a useful scapegoat and casting all of the blame on her is fine diplomatic means of making it clear that our administration shall bare no similarities to Honest's. Even so, the only real purpose this moves serves is to avert a war with Ali Jinnah, Reispan or Bestimmung. Beyond that, our diplomatic relations with those countries is going to depend entirely on your performance as emperor."

Makoto nodded his head once more before looking back down at the chessboard. He thought about his next move for several additional minutes before deciding what to do next. With some hesitation, he moved his knight at B1 to C3.

As always, Najenda responded completely devoid of hesitation; she moved her pawn at B2 to B5.

Scratching his head at his prime minister's level of insight, Makoto asked, "How do you always manage to make your moves so quickly?"

"When you've played the game as much as I have, the moves you can make and all of their variations are as plain as day. Once you know all of your choices, it's just a matter of choosing. "

* * *

[ **_. . . The number one spice of life: Hope . . ._** ]

* * *

Far far up north, in the country of Bestimmung, one man was traversing its snow-covered wastelands on foot. And he did so in spite of the sun having gone down; he did so in spite of the consistent brittle temperatures in the area; he did so in spite of the wind blowing in his face; he did so in spite of the threat of aggressive danger beasts in the area. What man would be foolhardy enough to brave such dangers one might ask. The Jaegar's own Grand Chariot Wielder: Wave.

And he was not alone. With him was the woman he cared for ever so deeply; it was his fellow Jaegar: Kurome. Only Kurome was not walking; she was unconscious and clearly had been for a considerable amount of time. She was in no immediate danger, however; she was fastened to Wave's back via a harness he was wearing on his chest. She had also been dressed in multiple layers of winter clothing, thus there was no risk of her succumbing to hypothermia.

As he continued trudging through the snow, he noticed a shining city well up ahead. The city stood out not just due to its lights, but also on the grounds that it rested atop a snow covered plateau. Even more noteworthy than the lights and the height was a tall tower at the center; it was a marvelous piece of architecture reaching all the way into the clouds.

Seeing all of this prompted Wave to stop in his tracks for a few moments. He had a supply bag and a lantern fastened to his belt and decided to make immediate use of them. Disregarding the cold air blowing in his face, he reached into his supply bag and removed one particular item; there was a book by the name 'A Tour of the Four Kingdoms'. He flipped through the pages to the best of his ability until he had reached a page he had clearly bookmarked. On that page was a picture of the tower in the city up ahead. The tower was called 'Babel's Library.'

Before another moment could pass, the sound of wolves growling could be heard nearby. Wave quickly placed his book back inside his supply bag and fastened the bag and his lantern back to his belt. He then unsheathed his imperial arm before noticing that he was surrounded by an entire pack of class-one ice wolves.

* * *

[ **_. . . Prologue: Akame ga Hunt . . ._ ** ]

* * *

Of the thousands of small uncharted and uninhabited islands in the vast oceans, there was one particular island that stood out for its unique features. Two unique features in fact. The first was a massive vertical slab of adamantine one hundred feet in height and one hundred feet in length. The slab stood firmly planted on the beach and had words from an unknown language carved into it from top to bottom. The second feature was none other than an active volcano sitting directly in the center. Among the island's other features, however, there was most certainly nothing unique about them. A forest, a freshwater lake, a population of small animals. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Yet despite the island's uninhabited appearance, a female voice could be heard in the forest counting something methodically. "49,985 . . . 49,986 . . . 49,987 . . . 49,988 . . . 49,989 . . . 49,990 . . . 49,991 . . . 49,992 . . . 49,993 . . . 49,994 . . . 49,995 . . . 49,996 . . . 49,997 . . ." It was . . . Esdeath. The sun had long down and the only source of light available was the crescent moon shining in the sky. Even so, she was high up on a tree branch doing one handed handstand pushups using just her left hand. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and she was wearing nothing but her skirt and her white laced bra. "49,998 . . . 49,999 . . . 50,000."

Upon reaching that last number, she vaulted herself off the tree branch using her left hand before landing on the ground with the grace and the stability of an olympic athlete. As she regained her footing, she glanced carefully at her left palm, clasping it back and forth. She immediately recalled one of the last minutes of climactic her duel with Tatsumi and how her left arm had given out as she deflected one of his swings with her makeshift ice shield. " _Still not good enough_."

Rather than ponder on this thought for another moment, she turned her attention to a small sliver of light emanating from the beach over yonder. She smiled at the sight of this before making her way over in that direction. Within just a few minutes of walking, the Ice Queen stood within just a few feet away from a campfire with a 100 pound bluefin tuna being hoisted and cooked above it. And to the side of the campfire was her trademark boots and collared shirt neatly resting on the ground. "Any luck?", she asked, her eyes shifting away from the fire and to a figure standing nearby; a figure quietly observing the waves crashing against the sandbar as well as the quiet and calm waters beyond.

"Still no sign of a ship or an air manta", the figure replied.

"Odd. With your enhanced vision, I thought for sure you would've spotted something by now."

"How's it going on your end?"

"Still no sign of Syura's portals."

"Are you sure he wanted to steal Incursio?"

"While you were unconscious, he openly announced that as being his intention. Logically, his next course of action would be to teleport back to this island and salvage Incursio off of whatever remained of our dead bodies provided it wasn't melted by the lava."

"It's been a month now though and still no sign of him."

"I would imagine that my parting gift to that fool has caused substantial psychological damage, making him more paranoid than a patient at a psychiatric hospital. So paranoid that perhaps he suspects we're still alive in spite of having no rational basis to support this suspicion."

"We'll have to find some other way to leave then. It's not like we can wait here forever."

"Can't we?", she asked with a sly smile. "The pieces on the board have changed considerably since the last time we were sent to some remote island. There's no revolution for you to worry about and I'm certain I'm no longer welcome in the capital."

He turned around, shifting his attention away from the sea and gazing upon the Ice Queen face to face . . . his crimson eyes illuminating noticeably much like a firefly on a summer evening. "Don't tell me you've already lost interest in going after the omega class danger beast."

"My interest has subsided a bit, but can you really blame me?", Esdeath responded, shrugging her shoulders in a whimsical fashion. "I have everything I need right here."

"It's not like you to just give up on something like that."

"You misunderstand, Tatsumi. I no longer need to go around endlessly seeking strong opponents, not when I have the ultimate rival I've always wanted standing right here before me. That and . . ."

Before Tatsumi knew it, the Ice Queen had thrown both of her arms around him while blushing in her typical school girl fashion, embracing him so tight and energetically that she had lifted him off the ground and was swaying him back and forth. "I finally have my soulmate all to myself!"

In response, the luminescence in Tatsumi's red eyes faded away and he too was blushing, though moreso out of embarrassment; even though he had finally accepted this kind of relationship with Esdeath, these sorts of overt displays of affection still resonated a level of embarrassment he found himself unable to control. "Hey! Hey! Easy! Easy now!"

She set him down, still blushing. "I can hardly help myself, my love. You are everything I want. You are everything I need. There is no longer anything else of consequence."

"You aren't upset about losing?"

"No one likes to lose, Tatsumi. I'll admit that I was annoyed in having lost to an opponent who had no inclination to kill, but losing to you has simultaneously killed my boredom in this interstice called life. Being the undisputed best is overrated for someone who loves to fight as much I do. I wanted a challenge. And now I have one. I thought I had reached the limit of my potential, but you've shown me that there are still heights I've yet to reach. In other words, your existence has breathed new life into mine and for that, you have my eternal gratitude."

"I'm flattered, Esdeath, but is making me your rival really a good idea? Can't say I've ever really heard of a girlfriend wanting to fight her boyfriend . . . well for good reasons anyway."

To which the Ice Queen let out a hearty laugh while undoing her ponytail and letting her hair down, "Maybe so, but as I've said before, we're not really a conventional couple then, are we?"

"You've got a point."

"So then it's settled. We'll stay here for the indefinite future and let the world tend to its own problems, danger beasts included."

"No can do", Tatsumi replied, politely shaking his head.

"There's more to this, isn't there? There's something about this danger beasts that compels you to pursue it."

Of course, Tatsumi knew his reasons all too well, his mind suddenly sparked with thoughts of the late Bestimmung ambassador, Klaus Hartmann. Specifically, how he had killed him as well as the fireside conversation they had had on the night beforehand. Only this time, such sparks didn't ignite feelings of guilt or self-loathing; this time, they ignited nothing but raw determination. "No matter what, I have to find this beast and slay it."

"Very well", Esdeath responded, sporting a sudden smirk. "If it means that much to you, we'll pursue it. But be warned: This will not interfere with our eventual rematch. Mark my words: When the time comes, you will face me again."

To which the Incursio wielder smiled, "It doesn't really sound like I have much of a choice. Feel free to challenge me whenever you want."

"Marvelous! This is going to be so much fun. I can hardly wait!"

Tatsumi was about make another remark only to be caught off guard by the sound of the most unusual growl. Astonished that Esdeath didn't already notice it, he instantly realized where the growl was coming from. "Wow . . . had I known you were going to be this hungry, I would've caught a bigger one."

Esdeath glanced down towards her rumbling stomach, laughing at her own expense. "Oh my. It would seem I got a little carried away with my conditioning exercises."

"Would you mind doing the honors?", he asked before sitting down next the fire.

The Ice Queen nodded her head before creating a large and sharp ice butcher knife out of thin air. With but a single swing, she cleaved their dinner in half; one half for her and one half for Tatsumi. She then impaled each piece with its own ice pike before handing one to him and keeping the other for herself.

Tatsumi had scarcely taken a bite out of his own piece before noticing the full extent of Esdeath's appetite and raising an eyebrow. Just like that time they had dined together on that merchant's ship they had saved from pirates, she was merciless with her food; she was gnawing and chewing through the meat clean off the bones like a savage ravenous beast.

"Okay, I gotta ask", Tatsumi said, putting his piece down. "Is there a reason you only eat like that when you're around me? When you kidnapped me and when you came to my village, you pretty much ate more like a normal person."

"Normal is in the eye of the beholder", she replied, mumbling while chewing on her food. "Besides, I used to eat like this all the time when I was growing up. Prior to coming to the capital, I knew nothing about the finer points of proper etiquette. When I'm with you, I feel a certain sense of nostalgia."

Within minutes, the 100 pound Bluefin tuna had been devoured right down to the bones. Tatsumi didn't even eat the entirety of his portion, having opted to give what remained to it to Esdeath once it was clear she was still hungry. Once he was ready to go to bed, he had lied down flat on his back, his eyes gazing upon the star lit sky.

Esdeath followed suit, lying down right next to him and gazing up at the sky as well. "I suppose leaving this miniature paradise is not without its advantages."

"Yeah?"

"Since you destroyed my old rapier, I'm in need of a new one. Perhaps I'll be able to purchase one custom made and forged with a stronger material."

"Why even bother buying one when you can pretty much make any weapon you can think of with your ice powers?"

"Making weapons out of thin air consumes precious stamina. Something you've already proven I'll need every last ounce of in our rematch. It's much more efficient to just enhance an actual rapier. And no matter what sword I make on my own, it'll never compare to one forged to perfection by a master blacksmith. I'm sure we'll come across one once when get to . . . Bestimmung, was it?"

Tatsumi nodded his head. "I saw the omega class danger beast in a cave outside a city called Herz."

"Herz? Hmm. I haven't personally been there, but the best weapons come from up north anyway, so I'm sure I'll find something suitable for our rematch."

Hearing her continue to talk about the prospect of another battle gave the Incursio weilder some pause. " _She really has her heart set on fighting me again. What have I gotten myself into?"_

"I wonder, Tatsumi", Esdeath said, her eyes still trained on the stars above. "During our battle, you told me about something you referred to as 'tranquil fury.' A steady mindset you claimed would allow you to fight to the pinnacle of your abilities. That might explain how you managed to improve your skills in just a week's time, but it doesn't address how you managed to become so much more proficient with your imperial arm."

"To be honest, I'm not really all that proficient. I had intended to have Incursio adapt to your ice attacks a lot faster, but it didn't work out that way. In that state, having Incursio adapt to whatever it hits has to be done the right way or else it won't work or I'll get exhausted like I did at the end of our fight. Needless to say, it's something I'm still getting the hang of."

"And just when I thought my defeat couldn't get any more embarassing", she said, lightly laughing in self-derision. "To lose to someone who didn't even have full control over his abilities. How frustrating . . . and yet how exhilarating to have a rival who has yet to reach the limits of his own potential."

As Tatsumi continued gazing at the stars, he felt a hand couple with his. This feeling caused him to shift his gaze away from the stars and towards the Ice Queen. It was then that a fiery blush appeared on his cheeks as he noticed the expression on her face. " _I've never seen her so . . . happy_."

Esdeath didn't notice Tatsumi's own expression. Her eyes were trained upon the stars up above. Not out of any particular fascination with astronomy of course. Rather, she found herself lost in her own imagination. There were so many possibilities a future with Tatsumi would bring her and she was delighted to explore each and every one of them.

"Hey Esdeath", Tatsumi said, interrupting her thoughts.

And just like that, she was brought back down to reality. She immediately shifted her gaze from the sky to the object of her affections. "Yes, my love?"

"When you said that I was all that you needed, did you mean it?"

Hearing her beloved ask her this question caught her off guard. It wasn't so much the question itself, but that he would actually ask it. As if there were any reason to doubt her words. She decided that such a question need not be answered with mere words. Blushing and acting on sheer impulse, she thrusted her head forward and pressed her lips against his. She made sure to show him the full brunt of her passion before finally breaking away. "Does that answer your question, my love?"

"Esdeath, I don't doubt your feelings for me. I never have. It's just . . . if I'm all you need, both as a lover and an opponent, then there's no longer any reason for you to go around killing anyone."

"Not necessarily. I'm simply no longer going to go around vigorously looking for people to kill. As long as you're around, I have no reason to do that. Still, it doesn't mean I've embraced your foolish notions of pacifism. I reject them absolutely and completely."

" _It's a start_ " _,_ Tatsumi thought while letting out a soft chuckle. " _Maybe her focusing on me isn't such a bad idea after all_. _"_

And so the evening ended just like a surprisingly pleasant evening months ago. The Ice Queen was cuddled up intimately close to the man she loved. And the man she loved was happy to be ever so close to his ice queen even if he wasn't as expressive with the feelings in his heart as she was. And as Esdeath dozed off, Tatsumi yet again remained wide awake, eyes still gazing upon the sky. Only he was no longer plagued with thoughts of the moral dilemma Esdeath had posed to him on that night months ago. Through a long and perilous journey, he had managed to find his own brand of justice and live his life the way he wanted to live it.

And yet . . . there was still something Tatsumi couldn't shake off his mind; there was something that kept him awake long after his Ice Queen had gone to sleep. It was the ominous words his village elder had expressed to him the last time they spoke:

" _Last night, I had a vivid premonition. You walk a dangerous path. More than you realize. Be wary, Tatsumi, for there is one amongst that group you should fear moreso than anyone else. For one day, that one will go on to become your greatest enemy_."

" _Esdeath? No, she wasn't the one in my premonition. It was the one they called . . . Wave."_

One thing was clear: What was thought to be the end of one story was merely the beginning of another. Whatever the future had in store for Tatsumi, it was a tale for another time.

* * *

 **A/N:** And at last . . . at long last, we are done. It took us a little over a year, but we are finished with the _Down a different Branch_ installment of our story.

Just a few points to note

 **#1.** From the getgo, it has been my intention to write with the idea of a follow-up story in mind. Everything that did not relate to the main plot (overthrowing Prime Minister Honest) was put in here to set up the pieces for Act II.

 **#2.** There were some concerns about the 'power levels' in this fic. However, from the getgo, we were always told that Tatsumi had a boatload of latent ability (see comments from Leone, Najenda, Bulat and even Esdeath). Both the anime and the manga give Tatsum his moment to shine by having him duke it out with the emperor's teigu gundam or whatever. Unlike the anime and manga, however, Tatsumi is indisputably the main protagonist here. This is his story so its only proper that he be the one to face and defeat Esdeath in the end as opposed to Akame being the one to do it.

 **#3.** In my mind, the reason the series is called Akame ga Kill is not because of the character named Akame, but because Tatsumi is in fact the 'red eyed killer. For those who don't know, Akame ga Kiru is literally translated to be Red Eyed Killer. As we see in this fic, Tatsumi does get a pair of red eyes upon 'evolving.' Thus, for our purposes, the name of the series is in itself a RED herring, hahaha. :P

 **#4.** Some of you might be disappointed with the death toll. Unlike the original, main characters didn't go around dropping like flies left and right. My rationale for this is that character deaths should be meaningful. In the original, Sheele's death was shocking (and even Bulat's to a lesser extent), but it eventually got to the point where death was merely nothing more than a source of cheap shock value. When I get around to writing Act II, not everyone will make it out alive. And that's all I'm gonna say on that! :P

 **#5.** None of my characters are done with their respective character arcs. Especially Tatsumi and Wave. Who they are now will not reflect who they are by the end of the story. One thing is for sure though: Esdeath will never EVER be Lawful Good, Neutral Good or Chaotic good. Anything else on the D &D alignment grid is on the table. ;-)

 **#6.** All of my character appearance descriptions (i.e. what Mez, Suzuka, Champ, Bolic, Enshin, etc look like) were borrowed from the AKG wiki with some word changes here and there.

 **#7.** Will get around to writing Act II eventually. It'll take place in a brand new fic!

 **#8.** Am going back and revising each chapter one by one to fix the prose/grammatical/spelling errors. Hope to have that done by tomorrow.

Can't think of anything else! Thank you all for reading and for putting up with my antics for the last 16 months! It's been pleasure!

See you all next time in _**Akame ga Hunt**_!


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